Always Late
by Pokahydee - Nekoyasha
Summary: HP SM, After being discovered late, Usagi is going to need help from the wizarding world to catch up to the students her age. Between lessons and detentions, Usagi barely has time for her secret lessons with the goldeneyed boy.
1. Prologue

**Always Late**

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi and Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I do not own the characters or anything, but the plot belongs to me. Please don't copy my story, I've put a lot of work into this story and I don't necessarily want to see it duplicated elsewhere, it's depressing to me.

Note: This story started out as a one-shot for Sailor Ronin Usa-chan's Mentor thing she had going on her site, but it's quickly turned into a multi-chapter story. Anyway, I don't really have many comments to make except that I don't generally read stories in the Sailor Moon, Harry Potter genre so I don't really know the cliché's and whatnot so please don't accuse me of writing a cliché story or whatever because I'm uninformed about the trends that run around that section.

Thoughts are '_italicized'  
_Dream Sequences are _'italicized' _(thoughts in dreams aren't)  
olloollo Change of scene, time, etc…

**Prologue**

"Mou… this is hard, Haruka-san." Usagi whined as she sat at the table balancing a pencil between her upper lip and her nose.

"You leave for school in three days, koneko-chan. You're going to have to be able to speak perfect English or you'll fail out of all of your classes." Haruka said sternly as she sat across the table from the bubbly blond.

"Demo…" She whined as she flopped her head forward onto the open book that lay in front of her on the table. She had received a letter the previous year saying that she had been accepted to a big school in England for the following year.

Usagi had been confused since she had never applied to that particular school, but once she opened her letter, she had received the shock of a lifetime. She had learned of the existence of real witches and wizards and not only that… she had learned that she had the talent to attend the most prestigious wizarding school in all of Europe, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The letter had been written in her native tongue of Japanese, but had specifically said that she had one year to learn English well enough to attend the school. Unlike most witches, who were discovered when they were 10 or 11 years of age, Usagi was 15 and entering the first year.

"Koneko-chan, do you want to fail out during your first week of school?" Haruka asked as she raised an eyebrow in Usagi's direction.

"But it's too hard." She whined as she picked her head up off the book and leaned her head against one hand with her elbow propped up on the table.

"You've been working extremely hard this past year, you already know the language, you just need to get some confidence." Haruka said with a small smile in Usagi's direction. Whenever Usagi was around, she would speak in English solely so the girl could get some experience with using the language. Every time Usagi would speak in English, she would receive a cookie and ever time she spoke Japanese; she received a cookie with a hot pepper baked into the center. So naturally, she learned early on that when she was around Haruka, she had to speak English the entire time.

Haruka hadn't been her only teacher, though. Setsuna and Michiru would often help with the lessons. Michiru had very lovely penmanship so she had taught Usagi the English alphabet, both printed letters and cursive letters. Usagi had been amazed out how much easier it was to write in English than it had been to write in Japanese. She didn't have to memorize tons of kanji, just 26 different letters that were arranged in different ways to spell different words and phrases. Setsuna seemed to know just about every language there was due to her time spent at the Time Gate and the many different things she watched over. In result, she was there much of the time that Haruka did her long lessons and would test Usagi at random if she saw her on the streets after school.

She had left her middle school that year since she wouldn't need Muggle history or anything of the like once she was attending Hogwarts. Because of this, Usagi was able to spend more time on her English lessons as well as her potion practice. When Setsuna had discovered Usagi's acceptance into Hogwarts, she had gone into the wizarding world and found a wizard that was suitable at potions so she would be able to get some practice with that before she entered school. It was well known that Usagi was a very poor cook so Setsuna had taken the liberty of doing this to prepare Usagi for school.

Usagi's family had been thrilled when they had discovered that Usagi was going to the most famous Wizarding school in the world. Though they were Muggles, one of Ikuko's older sisters had been granted with the gift and had even attended Hogwarts in her youth. Now her sister worked at St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies in the London as an assistant to one of the Healers. When Usagi was 6, she came to visit and brought candy like Berty Bott's Every Flavor Beans and Chocolate Frogs. Of course Usagi was too young to remember clearly the gifts and the magic on the Chocolate Frogs wore off after a few jumps. And Usagi wasn't able to distinguish that it was real magic at that time because children her age still believed in winged horses and princesses.

"I know, but what happens if I forget when I get to England?" Usagi questioned as her eyes filled with tears. "I don't want to fail! I want to learn how to make sweets appear out of nowhere!" Usagi said with a slight giggle. Haruka chuckled lightly at that and ruffled Usagi's already messy hair. She had been studying all day to prepare herself for her long-awaited arrival at Hogwarts. When Haruka had walked into the room earlier that day, the blond had been sound asleep in her book. Ikuko and Kenji had allowed Usagi to stay at their mansion so she could submerse herself into her studies without the distraction of friends and family. Of course she would return home on the weekends for a break from the constant work, and it was a nice break indeed. Usagi was able to play her favorite Sailor V video games and eat all the sweets she could eat as well as seeing her friends.

"You've worked too hard to fail out, Usagi-chan." Michiru said as the door cracked open and the aqua-haired girl walked in carrying a tray. She set a tray of sandwiches down on the edge of the table and turned toward the blond girl with a smile.

"Hai hai…" Usagi said doubtfully as she reached for a sandwich. She picked one up and took a large bite out of it before turning back to the book in front of her. She turned the page and her eyes scanned the English letters as she translated it in her head. They had used a portkey several months back to a place called Diagon Alley where she had gotten a field test of her newfound language skills.

When she first set foot into Diagon Alley, she was spellbound… Her eyes had scanned one strange shop after the next until they fell on a shop full of broomsticks. Aside from making sweets appear out of nowhere, the thing Usagi wanted most was to be able to fly. She had to buy spellbooks, a cauldron, and of course, her wand. It had been strange; not one wand in the entire store had been suitable for her. She had tested each and every wand in the entire store, but none had been right for her.

"What about my wand? I can't go to school if I don't have a wand." Usagi said with a frown as she flipped another page. She looked up at Haruka and Michiru miserably.

"Don't worry, koneko-chan. I'm sure we'll find you a suitable wand. Setsuna has just located a store in Tokyo that sells wands. We might be able to find the right wand for you there." Haruka said as she took one of the sandwiches and nibbled on it thoughtfully. "We're going to go there tomorrow, does that sound all right?"

"Hai!" Usagi said as a smile spread across her face. Usagi yawned loudly and rubbed her eyes. Usagi said as she glanced over at the clock on the wall. It read 12:00am. "Ah! No wonder I'm so tired!" Usagi said in surprise as she saw where the hands on the clock pointed. Haruka chuckled again and set her sandwich down on the edge of the tray.

"You'd better head to bed, koneko-chan." Haruka said with a small smiled as she reached for Usagi's book and closed it. "We're getting up early to head to that shop."

"All right, goodnight Haruka-san, Michiru-san." Usagi said as she stood and bowed in front of the two women with a smile on her face.

"Goodnight." Haruka and Michiru said in reply as they too, rose from their seats.

olloollo

"Try this one." An elderly wizard said as he handed Usagi her thirtieth wand. Usagi took the wand and gave it a little wave… nothing happened.

"I'm never going to find a wand." Usagi said as a frown crossed her lips. He took the wand back and pulled another that was a very dark wood and thrust it into her hand. She did the same, but nothing happened once again.

"Don't worry, Usagi-chan. You'll find a wand…" Michiru said with a small frown touching her lips. Haruka seemed to be thinking along the same lines and stood with her arms crossed over her chest.

"But we didn't find one at Ollivander's and they're the best wand makers around." Usagi said with the frown still intact on her lips. "I read it in one of those books I bought at Diagon Alley. If I couldn't find one there, what makes you think I'll be able to find one here?"

"I don't know for sure if you'll find a suitable one here, but you will have one before you begin school. That's a promise." Michiru said as she winked at the pouting blond.

The three of them had been at the store for a good three hours and the day was growing late. Each and every wand that had been handed to Usagi hadn't reacted at all. Usagi was beginning to think there had been some mistake because she didn't really have magic, and she'd spent the past year learning English for no reason. Of course Haruka and Michiru had reassured her until they were blue in the face that there had been no mistake, but Usagi couldn't help but feel a little depressed that she hadn't found her wand yet.

"This is our last wand, my child. It seems that your magic is quite finicky." The elderly wizard said as he handed the last wand that he had in the store over to Usagi. "I've never met a witch who wasn't able to find their perfect wand. Are you sure she has the gift of magic?"

"Of course she has it!" Haruka snapped in annoyance at the shop owner. They had spent the entire afternoon in the store reassuring her and here the owner was only serving to break her spirit further. "She has been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in England." She continued as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Oh?" The owner said as his eyes bugged out of his head. "She must really have the talent if she was accepted there! Its not often they accept student from halfway across the world!"

"Honto? Is it really elite?" Usagi asked as her eyes widened slightly. She, of course, didn't know much about the wizarding world because she had grown up in a Muggle household.

"It's the best wizarding school in the world!" The shop owner said excitedly as she plucked the wand from Usagi's hand. "I wish you the best of luck, miss! It looks as if none of the wands here are suitable for you. I would suggest going to Diagon Alley to Ollivander's in London. He makes the most spectacular wands."

"Erm… we've already tried there." Usagi said as a sweatdrop slid down her face. "I wonder what's wrong, though… I've tried hundreds of wands but I still haven't found mine." She said in disappointment as a frown spread across her face.

"Don't worry, koneko-chan. How would some ice cream make you feel? Would it help you cheer up any?" She questioned as she smiled down at the depressed blond. Usagi nodded her head as her lower lip quivered and the trio walked out of the store, empty handed.

olloollo

"Any success on the wand search?" Setsuna asked as Usagi, Michiru, and Haruka walked into the kitchen with several bags of sweets and a few new outfits for Usagi. Haruka had bought Usagi some really nice dress robes of pink silk with little white bunnies covering them with traditional Japanese prints surrounding them.

"Not yet, Setsuna-san…" Usagi said in disappointment as she set her bags on the floor beside the counter. Setsuna was stirring something in a pot that was on the stove that was most likely dinner.

"Don't worry, Hime-sama. I'm sure you'll find the perfect wand for you." Setsuna said as she winked in Usagi's direction. Usagi raised one delicate eyebrow at the strange wink that had been sent her way.

"Do you know something I don't, Setsuna-san?" Usagi questioned as she frowned at the taller woman. Setsuna was quite the mysterious one… Then again, she was the keeper of the Time Gate so she knew things that no one knew. She knew bits of the future as well as the distant future of the earth one thousand years from the present day.

"I was going to wait until the day you left so it would be a surprise, but I suppose you can receive it early." Setsuna said as a small smile played across her lips.

"You mean, you have a wand for me?" Usagi questioned skeptically as she looked suspiciously up at Setsuna.

"I have been searching for quite a while, but I think I've found a appropriate wand for you." Setsuna said as an all-knowing smile slid slowly across her lips. "It seems that the Phoenix feather, Dragon heartstring, and Unicorn hair aren't suitable for you. There are other things that can be used like Vela hair. Because you are the Princess of the Moon, you need a wand made from something magic that originated on the moon. Do you understand?"

"Something that originated on the moon? But…" Usagi paused as she thought to herself. "That's impossible, the kingdom on the moon was destroyed. There won't be anything magical left!" Usagi said as tears stung at the corners of her eyes.

"You forget, Hime-sama. There is one who has been to the moon and will still hold some of its power." Setsuna said with a smile. "Can you think of whom I'm speaking of?"

"Hmm…" Usagi said as she sat down on one of the stools and propped her head up on her hands. "Do I know this person?" Usagi questioned as she looked across the room at the dark-haired woman.

"Yes, he helped you a great deal… You also helped him…" Setsuna said with an air of mystery.

"Come on Setsuna-san!" Usagi whined as a pout stole across her lips. "I hate guessing games!" Setsuna laughed lightly at the childish antics of her princess. She would never change and that was a good thing. Usagi could make anyone smile without even trying.

"Think about it, Usagi-chan. Maybe it will come to you in your dreams." Setsuna said as she turned off the burner of the stove and began to pull out different bowls and spoons to server dinner.

olloollo

Usagi was walking through a glittering field that had chunks of crystal growing from the ground and sending rainbows of colors in all directions. Usagi glanced down at herself and found that she was wearing a glittering white dress with golden trimmings and her hair was in the familiar style that was the trademark of the White Moon Family. The sun shone down brightly and warmed her skin as she breathed in the fresh scent.

"Is this what Setsuna-san meant?" Usagi asked herself as she walked along the field. There were flowers littering the ground around her feet that sent their fragrance up as she passed them. She knew she was dreaming… there was no way that she _couldn't_ be dreaming. Everything looked surreal and the colors were much too vibrant to be real. She had never seen colors so beautiful except in one special place. The place where a friend was said to live. "Eh? Elios?" She questioned out loud as a sudden thought struck her mind.

"Very good, Hime-sama." A masculine voice said. Usagi spun around and came face to face with a glowing white horse with large feathered wings and a glowing Golden Horn on his head. "I was wondering when you would find your way here. You have finally come for my gift, I see."

"Gift?" Usagi questioned as her eyes widened slightly.

"Of course. You are set to start your new school tomorrow am I correct? You cannot attend if you do not have a wand." Elios said as in a flash of golden feathers, he transformed into his human form. Usagi blushed slightly as she looked up into his golden eyes. He was really quite handsome if you could get past the huge horn that was on the top of his head. His eyes were entrancing… You could stare in them for hours and think that only a few moments had passed.

"That's right… I take the portkey out tomorrow don't I?" Usagi questioned as she shook her head to clear her thoughts. Elios laughed lightly and smiled at the seemingly clueless girl. Elios reached up to his head and plucked out a single strand of his silver hair and held it up in one hand. Usagi watched curiously as the strand stood straight up from its previous limp state. It was surrounded with a silver glow for a moment before it thickened and solidified. When the illumination dimmed, Elios held a wand that glittered in the light.

"A gift, my Lady." Elios said as he presented the wand to Usagi with a smile touching his lips.

Usagi took the gift and held it gently in her hands. It was made from a type of wood that she had never seen before. It was bright silver with a smoothing varnish that caught the light and shimmered slightly in the light.

"Sugoi… it's so beautiful…" Usagi breathed as she held it by the thicker part and admired the feel of it in her hand. She closed her eyes and reveled in the strange feeling that surrounded her. When she opened her eyes once again, silver sparks were floating around her that seemed to be coming from the wand she held in her hands.

"It seems that the wand has chosen you." Elios said with a smile at the blond. He wasn't expecting her to launch herself on him and wrap him in a tight hug.

"Arigato, Elios-san!" She cried in gratitude as she clutched her new wand in one hand and hugged him as tightly as she possibly could. Elios seemed surprised at first, but after a moment, hugged her back, although not as tightly as Usagi was hugging him.

"Good luck, hime-sama." Elios said as he took a step back from Usagi and transformed back into his Pegasus form.

olloollo

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Ikuko asked as she hugged her daughter once more. They had taken the portkey out early that morning and had arrived a half an hour early for the train. Of course that was more than enough time for time to reach King's Cross to meet the Hogwarts Express.

"Hai, mama." Usagi said. She hugged her mother back and a single tear slid slowly down her cheek. Her mother, brother, father, and of course Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna had accompanied her to King's Cross. She had said goodbye to her other friends that morning before they left with the portkey. Of course her friends had given her gifts. A book called _Hogwarts, A History_ 1 from Ami, a few good luck charms and scrolls from Rei, a huge plate of cookies and a few pies from Makoto, and a whole stack of new manga from Minako. They had all cried when Usagi departed. It just wouldn't be the same in Tokyo with Usagi not there. Of course Usagi promised she would write as often as she could even though the rest of the girls weren't familiar with Owl Post (nor was she, for that matter).

"Because we could go back now and you could start next year." Ikuko said as she wiped her tears away with one hand.

"It's all right, mama. I'll be home at Christmas and Easter." Usagi reassured her emotional mother.

"Take care, odango atama." Shingo said as he smiled slightly up at his sister. Of course he wouldn't admit it, but he was really going to miss his sister. He still found it extremely odd that his sister was accepted at a school in Europe, though. She had barely been passing middle school and here she was studying abroad. It just didn't make much sense to him, especially when he didn't show any sign of magical talent. To tell the truth… he was downright jealous of the clumsy blond.

"Luna, are you ready?" Usagi asked as the black cat rubbed up against her leg. Usagi hadn't seen Luna very much lately, but the cat had decided that since cats were allowed at Hogwarts, she was going to go along as well and keep an eye on her charge. Someone had to make sure the blond did her homework and studied for her tests. Besides, then Luna would be able to report back to the rest of the Senshi and make sure nothing out of the ordinary happened in Tokyo while the two of them were in Europe.

"Meow." Luna mewed softly as Usagi bent down to pick up the cat. Most of the animals Usagi said on platform 9 and three-quarters were in cages so she felt a little silly holding Luna in her arms. It didn't matter, though. It wasn't as if the feline was going to run away from her before she got onto the train. Luna was too much of a hawk to leave Usagi's side. She was likely to prevent Usagi from putting one toe out of line with her boring lectures on studying and following the rules. It's not as if Usagi always followed the rules, though. Many times Usagi had broken curfew because of different enemies that decided to attack late at night. She had also lied to her mother about why she was out so late. She couldn't tell her the truth that she was a super-heroine that fought evil every other night. Her mother would probably laugh in her face and tell her to be more serious and maybe she'd pass her classes.

"Goodbye, minna." Usagi said as she took a few steps toward the train. She turned around and waved goodbye to the six people who decided to see her off and took a deep breath before she turned back to face the train. "I won't see them again for months… I'm going to miss them…" She said as a single tear slid down her cheek. Never had she spent so much time from home… it was going to be hard for her to adjust. At least she had Luna with her to help her cope with the lack of her friends and family that always seemed to be around.

**:Fin:**

The prologue is roughly 4 pages long, sorry it seems a bit short, I do have quite a bit more of this story written so I will post it when I feel like I should add some more

grins Sorry, I couldn't help it! I LOVE Elios so I HAD to add him in beams

1 giggles Sorry, I had to throw that in there. I could see Ami-chan and Hermione getting along REALLY well since they're such good students . And since Hermione is always directing the boys to that particular book, I thought I'd make mention of it .


	2. Chapter 1 The Sorting Ceremony

**Always Late**

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi and Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I do not own the characters or anything, but the plot belongs to me. Please don't copy my story, I've put a lot of work into this story and I don't necessarily want to see it duplicated elsewhere, it's depressing to me.

Note: This story started out as a one-shot for Sailor Ronin Usa-chan's Mentor thing she had going on her site, but it's quickly turned into a multi-chapter story. Anyway, I don't really have many comments to make except that I don't generally read stories in the Sailor Moon, Harry Potter genre so I don't really know the cliché's and whatnot so please don't accuse me of writing a cliché story or whatever because I'm uninformed about the trends that run around that section.

Thoughts are '_italicized'  
_Dream Sequences are _'italicized' _(thoughts in dreams aren't)  
olloollo Change of scene, time, etc…

**Chapter 1 - The Sorting Ceremony**

"You'd better hurry or the train will leave you standing right there." Luna said quietly into Usagi's ear. Usagi nodded her head and ascended the stairs and onto the train. She looked around and saw a few people milling about the hallways but it seemed that most of the students had chosen compartments with friends. Usagi felt kind of lost as she looked from one closed door to the next. She nearly cried out in surprise when something hit her from behind. She stumbled forward and dropped the animal in her arms that hissed indignantly at having lost her perch in Usagi's arm.

"Get out of the way, mudblood." A cold voice said close to Usagi's ear. She had managed to catch herself before she hit the floor and stood leaning heavily against the wall beside her.

"Nani?" She questioned quietly as she turned to face a pair of blue eyes under a head of slicked back platinum blond colored hair. She looked confused as she rolled the strange word 'mudblood' over in her mind. That was a word she had never heard before in her lessons with Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna. "I'm… sorry…" Usagi said slowly as she let the strange language roll off her tongue while she bowed slightly at the waist. He didn't respond and just smirked at her. His face was twisted into an amused smile, as he looked her up and down. She decided to wear her school uniform and then change into her Hogwarts robes on the train-ride.

"You should be sorry. What the hell is with the weird hair?" He asked as he grabbed one of her pigtails and gave it a painful yank.

"Oi! That hurts!" Usagi cried as she grabbed the blond streamer and made to pull it out of his hand. Luna leapt up from the floor and sank her teeth into the blond boy's hand, which caused a rather nasty curse to issue from his mouth. He shook his hand and flung the black cat to the floor. "Luna!" Usagi cried as she dropped to her knees beside the dazed cat and scooped her up into her arms. "What did you do that for! You hurt her!" Usagi cried as tears pricked the corners of her eyes.

"Stay out of my way." He said angrily as he pushed past Usagi and headed further down the train. Usagi remained on the floor cradling the dazed cat in her arms and nearly jumped when she heard a new voice above her.

"Are you all right?" Usagi looked up at the girl who had spoken. She wore Hogwarts robes with a strange badge above the crest on her robes. She had brown hair that was quite bushy and was holding out a hand to help Usagi up. A boy who was much taller than her stood behind her and had flaming red hair with his face was covered in freckles. He looked quite peeved and was staring in the direction of the blond boy from earlier.

"Yeah… I'm fine." Usagi said slowly as she took the offered hand and allowed the girl to help her to her feet. At this point, Luna's eyes opened and she mewed softly as she lay in Usagi's arms.

"You might want to look out for Malfoy. He's not very friendly." The girl said with a frown. "My name is Hermione Granger, you are?"

"Oh, I'm Usagi Tsukino." She said in reply as she nearly forgot to switch her family name and first name.

"Are you a transfer student?" Hermione asked as she eyed Usagi's strange garb. "It's not often that Hogwarts accepts transfer students."

"Yes, I'm from Japan. I received a letter last year that I had been accepted." Usagi said slowly as she rubbed the cat's head that lay pitifully in her arms.

"What year are you entering? You look as if you should be in fifth year." Hermione said a-matter-of-factly.

"I'm entering first year… The letter said that I was discovered late or something like that. I've been working for the past year to learn English." Usagi said slowly as she was still trying to get used to speaking only in English. Although Usagi knew English, it was a little tough on her talking to the girl Hermione as she had a heavy English accent.

"Oh? I'm surprised they're letting you enter." Hermione said as her eyes widened slightly. "After all, Hogwarts is the best wizarding school in the world. It's strange they would allow someone to enter so late. Oh well, no matter. Would you like to join us in our compartment?" Usagi nodded slightly and followed the dark-haired girl. The redhead beside her seemed to be angry and was casting strange looks in Usagi's direction.

"Are you going to sulk forever, Ron?" Hermione asked as she glanced over at the redhead and noticed the looks he had been shooting ahead of them. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce Ron!" Hermione said as a slight blush touched her cheeks. "Usagi, this is Ronald Weasley. He's a friend of mine and fellow Prefect of Gryffindor house."

"It's nice to meet you, Weasley-san." Usagi said meekly as she looked in his direction. He just grunted a reply and Usagi returned her gaze to the floor. Things were already starting pretty bad… She had only spoken to three people and already two of them didn't seem to like her.

They walked pretty far down the train and occasionally would peek into a window as if looking for someone. Hermione seemed to be slightly annoyed at having to go so far down the train to find the rest of her friends. Finally after it seemed they were going to walk out the back of the train, Hermione and Ron stopped in front of a door that was slightly ajar.

"Finally! I was beginning to think you'd missed the train again!" Hermione said in annoyance as she pushed the door the rest of the way open and entered the room with Usagi and Ron in tow. Ron stepped through and plopped down in one of the seats. He made a grab for the treats that were strewn across the floor. Usagi scanned the room slowly at the occupants of the compartment. There was a girl with red hair and freckles much like Ron, a boy with black hair and blazing green eyes, a heavier set boy with brown hair, and a strange girl who was reading a magazine upside down.

"Harry, Ginny, Neville, Luna, this is Usagi." Hermione said as she motioned to the blond standing in the doorway of the compartment holding a sleeping cat against her chest. Usagi seemed slightly taken aback at the name Luna and glanced up at the girl with the upside down magazine. She had the same name as Usagi's cat! Strange…

"Nice to meet you." Usagi said as she bowed at the waist, but remained standing in the entrance of the compartment.

"Usagi is a transfer student from Japan. She's entering first year." Hermione explained as she motioned for Usagi to take a seat on one of the open benches. Usagi reluctantly obliged and laid Luna on the seat next to her before she cast her eyes to the floor. It wasn't like Usagi to be shy, but she was really nervous she was going to say something weird or they weren't going to like her at all because she was the "weird foreign girl".

"Isn't she a little old to be entering first year?" The boy with the black hair and green eyes spoke up. As Usagi scanned his face her eyes were directed to the small lightening bolt scar on his forehead. He seemed to watch her as her eyes stopped on the scar, but she didn't question it.

"They discovered me late…" Usagi said slowly as her eyes left his scar. She wanted to ask where he had gotten the scar, but she didn't want to seem rude. She just wanted to make some friends so it would make it easier for her to be so far from home.

"Have you met Sailor Moon?" A new voice spoke up. Usagi's eyes searched for the source of the voice and they settled on the strange-looking girl with the upside-down magazine.

"Sailor Moon?" Usagi questioned as a slight shiver of fear ran through her body. There was no way that little girl knew she was Sailor Moon, was there?

"Yeah, she's a super-heroine in Japan. My father ran a story a long time ago because he knew her identity." Luna Lovegood said as the dreamy look never left her face.

"Eh?" Usagi questioned as she jumped to her feet in surprise. There was no way that girl or her father knew who she was! That was impossible!

"It was some Muggle actoress." Luna explained as she shrugged her shoulders. "I assumed you were a fan, doesn't she wear her hair like that?"

"Huh? Uh… yeah…" Usagi said in embarrassment at her sudden outburst. She slowly sunk back down to her seat, quite red in the face. "I collect the manga…" Usagi said slowly as she tried to hide the embarrassment that she felt inside. She must not have done a very good job because everyone else in the room continued to stare at her.

"Manga?" Hermione questioned as she heard the strange word come from Usagi. It was apparent they were staring because they didn't know what she was talking about.

"Oh! I'm sorry, they're called 'comic books' in English." Usagi said as a slight blush touched her cheeks and she flushed in embarrassment. "It's really popular in Tokyo because that's where Sailor Moon is supposed to fight evil."

"I bet it's just a publicity stunt for them to sell books." Hermione said confidently. She had heard of different companies setting up things along the same lines in order to sell their product.

"No, she's real." Usagi interjected quietly. "She saved my brother from some monster, I saw it." She said with a slight smile. Of course they didn't know about Sailor Moon or who she was. It was probably best that they believed Sailor Moon was just a publicity stunt, but it annoyed her slightly.

"I still say she's a publicity stunt." Hermione said stubbornly. Usagi just nodded. She saw that the fluffy-haired girl was very stubborn so it wasn't worth the argument. Besides, what could Usagi say? She's real because I'm her? Nah… That was the worst idea Usagi had ever had go through her head.

"Ne, Hermione-san." Usagi said a few minutes later after the boy Ron and Harry had gone back into their conversation on something Usagi had never heard before. What was Quidditch? Oh well, she'd ask someone a little later on.

"What is it, Usagi?" Hermione questioned as she looked up from the book in her hands. Usagi scanned over the book but couldn't find a title because the cover was so faded.

"What does mudblood mean?" She questioned as she remembered the strange name the blond boy had called her. She knew what mud meant and she also knew what blood was, but she had never heard the term 'mudblood' before.

"Where did you hear that!" Hermione asked as she nearly dropped the book that she was holding. Usagi glanced around and saw that everyone was staring at her and all their conversations had stopped.

"One guess who she heard that from." Ron said bitterly as his eyes narrowed in anger. "Of course it had to be Malfoy. Am I right?"

"You mean that boy that hurt Luna-chan?" Usagi questioned as she stroked the cat that lay at her side. The animal had been silent the entire time as a big ginger cat glared at her from across the compartment. Usagi assumed the ginger cat with the bottlebrush tail belonged to Hermione. They seemed made for each other; they even looked similar with the bushy hair they both had. "With the blond hair?"

"That's Malfoy all right." Harry said with a similar expression of anger on his face as Ron.

"Is it something bad?" Usagi questioned as she shrunk under their eyes. The air of the compartment had suddenly gone very tense.

"It's a very rude term used for a Muggle-born witch or wizard…" Hermione said slowly as her hands tightened on the book. "It means dirty blood. It's not used in civilized conversation."

"Oh…" Usagi said slowly as her face fell somewhat. She knew that it had been an insult, but she didn't think it had been that bad. Now that she saw their reactions, though, she realized that it was like some of the 'curse' words that she had heard Haruka use when she was frustrated while working on her car. Those had been the only words she had picked up weren't used in 'civilized conversation'. "So it's like a curse word?" Usagi questioned slightly.

"Hmm? Well, I guess you could call it that." Hermione said slowly. "Look, I'll be right back, I'm going to go find the head boy and girl and report this incident to them. They would want to know."

"Don't worry about it." Usagi said as her face flushed slightly in embarrassment. "It was nothing, really. I was just curious about what it meant. He can say what he wants, it doesn't matter to me."

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked as she raised one eyebrow in Usagi's direction. Usagi nodded in reply and scooped up the purring Luna into her arms.

"What's your cat's name again?" Hermione asked as she rose and went over to pet Luna. "Oh wow, what a strange mark!" Hermione said as she scratched Luna under the chin and looked down at her face. "I see now why you named her Luna. Is that a bald spot?"

"Huh? Oh yeah." Usagi said with a smile. "Luna is a very special cat. I couldn't leave home without her, she's one of my best friends."

"I suppose animals are you only friends, aren't they mudblood?" A familiar drawl came from the doorway. Everyone turned to look at the person standing in the doorway who happened to be none other than Draco Malfoy.

"Mou! Why are you so mean!" Usagi demanded as she rose to her feet and approached the rude boy. "What did I do to you?" She questioned angrily as she puffed out her cheeks and narrowed her eyes on the boy.

"Why should I be nice to a mudblood?" Malfoy sneered as his cold eyes fixed on Usagi. Two larger boys that appeared to be bodyguards flanked him on either side. They were thick and gorilla-like in their posture and appearance. Usagi didn't even flinch under his stare, much to Draco's dislike. "You should know your place." Draco said as he pulled his wand swiftly from his pocket and prepared to cast a curse on the blond girl. Before a word came out of the boy's mouth, a dozen different spells hit him from every side. Usagi's eyes widened as she saw the boy collapse to the floor sporting a bloody nose, purple tentacles growing from his arms, large boils all over his arms and face, and a head full of snakes instead of hair. His two goons appeared no better than he did as they lay beside him on the floor. The taller of the 'bodyguards' was leaning against the wall with tree trunks where his legs had been and his head looked like a large cherry about to pop. The other boy looked much better than Draco and the tall one except that he was hunched over puking up slugs 2 and trying to keep his wand from slipping out of his hands, which looked like over-grown slugs as well.

"What did you guys do that for?" Usagi demanded as she turned to face a compartment full of wand-bearing witches and wizards. Even Hermione stood there with her wand raised even though both she and Ron were prefects.

"He was going to curse you." Harry said defensively as he watched the blond girl kneel by Malfoy's side and gently lift his head up and place it in her lap.

"That doesn't mean you have to attack them!" Usagi shot back as she sent a dirty look in the direction of the other occupants of the compartment.

"But-" Ron started, but was cut off before he could say anything by Usagi.

"Daijoubu?" Usagi questioned as she unconsciously slipped back into her native tongue. Malfoy stirred and groaned slightly as his ice blue eyes flickered up and saw a pair of cerulean blue ones looking down at him. He was about to object when he realized it was the mudblood from before, but found he was unable to talk. He heard a hissing around his head and reached one hand up to run it through his slicked back hair. Usagi watched his eyes widen in surprise as a snake bit down on his tentacled hand harshly. That's when he realized why he was unable to talk… there were boils all over his face that were so swollen he was unable to move his lips. "I don't know how to reverse the spells, I'm sorry." Usagi said solemnly. "Is there anyone I can get that would know how to reverse them?" Usagi questioned as she turned to face the people in the room. Ron was glaring at her darkly as she held Malfoy in her lap.

"Why should we reverse them! They deserve it for all of the stuff they've put us through!" Ron said sharply as he glared harshly at Usagi. She didn't even flinch under his stare. She was used to people staring at her in that way because of all the monsters and creatures she had fought in her life. She had learned in her dealings with such beings that there was always some good underneath. They were just too weak or too afraid to show it. And Ron seemed to have good intentions, protecting her and all. The only problem was that he seemed to enjoy vengeance too much for someone so young. Could Hermione's group of friends really hate the blond boy so much? And could the blond boy's group hate Hermione's so much? It was unhealthy for such anger and malice to exist between the students, especially because they went to the same school and attended the same classes.

Usagi gasped when something connected with the side of her face. It was slippery and slightly damp and made a sickening slap as it connected with her cheek. Her head turned to the side from the force of the blow and remained turned as a few strands of blond hair hung over her cheek, effectively hiding the red mark that remained imprinted on her skin. She turned her face back slowly and met a pair of angry eyes. The injured blond boy was struggling with his tentacles to wipe the blood that had dripped down his boiled face.

"W… why?" Usagi questioned as she turned wide-eyed back at the boy Ron called Malfoy. "I was… trying to help you…" Usagi said slowly. His hand slid across the ground until it grasped his wand. He then waved the wand and mumbled something quietly and the boils on his face and arms disappeared.

"You filthy mudblood! How dare you touch me!" Malfoy growled as he glared down at Usagi.

"Eh?" Usagi questioned as her shocked expression grew. He was so cold… She felt a small shiver run down her spine as the now strange looking boy fixed her with his glare for a few moments more. He narrowed his eyes and then turned on his heel and exited the room. The puking boy had grabbed a trash can at this point and followed Malfoy out of the compartment carrying the can as a bucket to catch the slugs that would come from his mouth every few seconds. The third boy remained unconscious on the ground with his back against the wall. Usagi remained on her knees on the floor and watched the small group leave. Her eyes cast down to her hands that remained in her lap as Harry and Ron worked together to heave the huge boy out into the hallway and slid the door closed quietly. Usagi didn't talk much after that.

"Daijoubu, Usagi-chan?" A small voice asked close to her ear. Usagi hadn't even felt the soft paws of Luna as she jumped onto Usagi's shoulder lightly. She rubbed her face against Usagi's in an attempt to look affectionate so she would be able to speak with Usagi properly.

"Aa…" Usagi whispered softly as she rubbed her stinging cheek.

"That git, Malfoy…" Ron muttered angrily as he knelt down beside Usagi. "Don't bother feeling pity for him, he's a slimy git. You've just made yourself a life-long enemy." Ron said as he stood back up and offered a hand to Usagi. She took the offered hand and let him help her to her feet.

"I didn't think anyone could be that cold…" She said quietly as she rubbed her cheek lightly. She was well aware that all the eyes were on her as she walked over to one of the seats and sat down. She drew her knees up to her chest and turned so she could see out of the window of the train. She remained that way for the remainder of the journey, deep in her own thoughts. Only when she felt something pulling at her skirt did she look up for her musings.

"You have better change into your robes, we should be arriving soon." Hermione said as she placed a comforting hand on Usagi's shoulder.

"Huh? Oh… all right." Usagi said as she rose from her spot on the seat and walked over toward the door. She walked down the hallway a few paces to where her trunk was stored and rummaged through the inside until she found the sleek black robes they had bought at Diagon Alley a few weeks prior. She didn't bother to go back into the compartment and pulled the black robes on over her old school uniform. She didn't care that it wasn't what she was supposed to wear at that time. She would make sure she wore the proper uniform for classes. She just didn't feel like wandering around until she found an empty compartment to change in. She had just closed up the front of her robe and closed her trunk when the train came to a stop and students began to pour our of closed compartments. Usagi's eyes widened in shock as they crowded around her, pushing and shoving to get off of the train.

"Excuse me!" A girl's voice shrieked close to Usagi and a stuck-up looking girl with a silver crest that had a snake in the shape of an 's' embroidered on her robes pushed past.

"I'm sorry." Usagi said as she recognized the boy that stood by the obnoxious girl's side. It was him… the boy called Malfoy and his glare was fixed on Usagi as he passed. She felt another shiver travel down her spine. Of course she had to anger one of the most gorgeous guys, now that the tentacles and snakes were no more, she had seen on the train ride to school. The only thing that married it was the nasty sneer that seemed to remain in place on his face at all times. She shrunk under his glare and turned her face away as he passed.

"There you are, Usagi." Hermione's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Are you all right?" Hermione questioned as she saw the strange look on Usagi's face. Her eyes followed Usagi's gaze and saw easily what made Usagi look away. Malfoy again… his glare fixed on Hermione and she only sneered right back tauntingly. "Come on, it's clearing out."

olloollo

"First years, this way! First years, over here!" A sharp feminine voice called as Usagi stepped off the train followed by Harry and Ron. Usagi looked in the direction of the voice and saw an older woman with cropped gray hair and a rather large chin.

" Who is that?" Usagi questioned as she saw the woman standing several feet away. She looked like she was someone's grandmother instead of a teacher.

"Huh? What's Professor Grubbly-Plank doing here?" Harry asked himself as he seemed surprised to see the woman. "Hagrid must not be back yet…" He said more to himself and seemed disappointed.

"You had best go with her. You have to take the boat across the lake. Have fun." Hermione said with a smile as she turned back to face Usagi. "I suppose we'll see you after the sorting. Maybe you'll even be in Gryffindor." Hermione said with a smile. "Well, goodbye." Hermione said as she, Harry, and Ron headed for the carriages that stood near the train. Usagi's eyes bugged out her head once more as she saw what was pulling the carriages… The looked kind of like horses, but they were extremely bony, had large wings and a reptilian look about their heads. They were unlike any horses Usagi had ever seen before. She didn't say anything because no one else seemed to take heed to them and instead turned her attention back to the woman yelling for First Year students. She took a deep breath and pushed her way through the thinning crowd and approached a group of students who were much younger than she.

"Hmm? Sorry, this is for First Year students only." Professor Grubbly-Plank said briskly as Usagi approached. Usagi was about to object when she cupped her hands around her mouth and continued to gather the first year students.

"Excuse me, ma'am." Usagi interjected politely as she dug into the pocket of her robes for the paper she had received from Hogwarts.

"I'm very busy dear, what do you want?" She asked in exasperation as she turned her attention back to the blond girl. She had a strange accent and her hair was done up in one of the weirdest styles she had ever seen. Some people had strange customs so she didn't say anything.

"I am a first year student, ma'am." Usagi said as she held up the paper for her to see. "I'm a transfer student from Japan. They discovered my abilities late and I received this last year." She explained as a boy close by snickered.

"Aren't you a little OLD for first year?" A boy with dark hair asked as he sneered up at her. Usagi blushed slightly, but felt annoyance rise up inside. Before she could stop herself, she flicked the boy on the forehead and glared at him with an annoyed expression on her face.

"You should respect your elders, brat." Usagi shot back as she crossed her arms over her chest and turned her head away from him.

"Very well. Let's be off." Gubbly-Plank said as the carriages began their trek up to the palace and the assembled first year students followed the older woman along a little path. Hermione had mentioned boats so Usagi had a good idea of what was to come, but she didn't know what would happen after that. Hermione had said something about being 'sorted' but Usagi didn't know how that was done and she was quite nervous about it. As she glanced around, she realized that she wasn't the only one who was worried. The majority of the kids around her were pale with fear or anxiety. _'I hope they don't test us with magic!'_ Usagi thought wildly as she pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and began to chew on the corner of it in nervousness. _'I didn't get my wand until yesterday! I don't know the first thing about magic!'_ Usagi thought to herself as her fear only grew.

She was jolted back into reality when she ran into something and knocked backward onto her backside. She groaned slightly and struggled to stand up.

"Better watch it, there." A voice said and as a boy reached a hand down and hoisted Usagi to her feet.

"I'm sorry." Usagi said as she blushed slightly. She could hear sniggering nearby and glanced over to see the dark-haired boy acting out her graceful landing.

"Here we are! All right, four to a boat, don't over crowd!" Grubbly-Plank's voice rose over the quiet whisperings of the student. Usagi picked a nearby boat and three other girls climbed in as well all huddled together. She could hear them talking behind their hands and she assumed it was about her because she was so much older than the rest of them. She didn't really mind, though. They could say whatever they wanted about her; she still had friends to go home to. And she had possibly made friends already with Hermione and the rest of her group.

The boats were all loaded and had begun to drift across the lake as an unseen hand pulled them smoothly along. Usagi enjoyed the light breeze against her face and took a moment to breathe in the fresh scent of England. She had been in Tokyo for so long with its overcrowding and air pollution that she had almost forgotten the smell of clean air.

"Hey, do you know anything about how they do the sorting?" One of the girls who sat across from Usagi questioned timidly. When Usagi didn't answer right away she frowned and muttered to her friend. "I bet she doesn't understand English…"

"I understood you fine." Usagi said without turning to face the girl. "I was merely enjoying the fresh air after being stuffed up on that train for so long." She said as she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "And in answer to your question, I do not know how they do the sorting."

"She stuck up just because she's older." The girl who spoke whispered to her friend that sat on her right side. Usagi ignored their conversation. She didn't much care about what they had to say about her. She was startled out of her reverie when she felt a pair of hands on her back, but before she could catch herself, she tumbled over the edge of the boat. She put out her hands to catch herself and opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out as her mouth was instantly filled with water. The water stung as it touched her skin and icy fingers prickled like needles wherever the water touched. The sudden shock of cold only caused her to suck in a deep breath of water. She bobbed to the surface sputtering and coughing as she forced the cold, dirty water out of her mouth and began to paddle her way back to the boat.

"Why did you do that!" Usagi demanded as she grabbed the edge of the boat. She went to pull herself in, but her robes were sopping wet so she was unable to lift herself into the boat.

"What are you talking about? We didn't do anything, did we?" The girl said as she looked over at her friends for confirmation. They nodded their heads affirmatively with looks of forced innocence and surprise on their faces.

"What's going on!" Professor Grubbly-Plank's voice broke into the conversation. A boat had floated up beside Usagi, who was still clinging to the edge of the boat to keep from sinking.

"They pushed me in!" Usagi said as she pointed at the girls accusingly. Grubbly-Plank, aided by one of the boys in her boat, grabbed her under the arms and hoisted her into the boat. Usagi shivered involuntarily as the colder air met with her wet skin and robes.

"That will be quite enough! Behave yourselves or I'll have to take points away before the year even begins!" She said as she glared in Usagi's direction.

"Nani! Me cause trouble! It's those little brats!" Usagi protested as she pointed a finger accusingly at the girl across from her.

"We don't know what she's talking about. Perhaps she doesn't know proper English so she probably doesn't even know what she's saying." The girl said innocently as she pretended to look shocked.

"That's enough from all of you!" Grubbly-Plank said as he frowned at the girls surrounding Usagi. She fixed Usagi with a sympathetic gaze before she frowned at her as well. "Now, we're almost there." She continued as she turned her attention back to the opposite shore. Usagi shivered once more as a breeze fluttered through the trees and sent another chill throughout her body.

Usagi was very glad when the boat touched the opposite shore and with another shutter as her wet clothes brushed against her skin, Usagi lifted herself from the boat and began to walk up the lawn. A moment later, she was joined by the rest of the first year students as they ascended the grassy hill toward the huge castle they had seen silhouetted against the sky. She would be happy to be inside in a set of nice warm, dry robes that sat in her trunk she had left outside the train. She had managed to get Luna to go into a carrier before she got off the train with the promise that she would bring the feline something good from the dinner table that night. Luna didn't seem to want to leave her charge alone in a strange place such as this.

When all of the students were assembled on the shore, they followed Professor Grubbly-Plank as they walked across the soft green grass up to a set of decorative double-door. Usagi assumed this was the main entrance to the school and gasped slightly when they approached them. On further inspection, Usagi could see intricate carvings in the hard wood of the doors as they towered above her. From the lake, the doors, and the castle for that matter, didn't look nearly as big as when she stood looking up at the tall stone towers with their many windows.

"Follow me." A new voice said as the doors slowly opened to reveal an older woman wearing ornate green robes and spectacles on the bridge of her nose. Usagi gulped slightly at the strict-looking woman in an attempt to swallow the lump in her throat. The witch turned around and led them into a great entrance hall with another set of double doors directly in front of them. Instead of going through the next set of double doors, Usagi was slightly surprised to see the woman led them to a door on the right. "I'm Professor McGonagall, your Transfiguration teacher and head of Gryffindor house. Before you take your seats in the Great Hall you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin." She explained as she stopped at the other end of the long room they had entered. "I believe they are almost ready to begin the sorting. Wait here for a moment and I will return when they are ready for you." She said and disappeared through a door to the left at the very end of the room.

"So, what house do you think you'll be put in? Certainly not the best one in Hogwarts." The girl who had ridden in the same boat as Usagi asked loudly. Usagi turned in her direction with a slightly confused look on her face. She didn't care which house she was placed on as long as she didn't make a fool of herself. She wasn't exactly graceful and she wasn't quite sure of her magical abilities because she had only just found out she was a witch.

"I don't know." Usagi said as she turned away from the girl. She grasped the end of her sleeve and squeezed it between one hand as water splashed down at her feet. She shivered once more and jumped in surprise as she felt something draped around her shoulders. When she looked over, she saw a semi-transparent figure behind her. "Nani?" She questioned as she slipped back into her native tongue. "A ghost?" Usagi questioned as she looked at the figure in surprise.

"Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. I'm the resident ghost of Gryffindor, it's nice to meet you." The ghost said as he grasped his head and tipped it to the side as one would tip their hat in the olden days of England. Usagi touched the blanket that the ghost had draped around her and pulled it closed in front of her. She was still cold but she figured she would warm up in no time.

"Thank you." Usagi said as she bowed to Sir Nicholas slightly as was the custom in Japan.

"My whole family has been in Slytherin so of course I'll be there too." The same girl from before said loudly to her friends.

"What's so great about this Slytherin?" Usagi questioned delicately to a boy who stood a few paces from her. The girl talking seemed very pompous and arrogant so Usagi had silently decided that maybe she didn't want to be in Slytherin. Even the name made a shudder go down her back, it sounded like a snake of some sort. The boy turned to face her and spoke in a very low tone.

"I wouldn't be so thrilled to be in Slytherin." He said in a hushed tone. "There isn't a wizard that's gone bad who wasn't in Slytherin." He said with a frown on his nervous face.

"Are you serious?" Usagi questioned as her eyes widened slightly in surprise. She didn't know much about the wizarding world, but she assumed that when he said 'went bad' meant they had gone to the supposed 'Dark Side', just like many of the villains she had faced as Sailor Moon.

"Yeah… I would do anything to _not_ end up in there." He said slowly. He stopped as the door to the side opened and the familiar figure of Professor McGonagall stepped into the room.

"We are ready for you. Follow me." She said simply as she stepped through the doorway. The first years unconsciously lined up in a single line in order to pass through the doors. Usagi stood about halfway along the line and slowly filtered through the doorway with the rest of the first years. Since she was so short, she didn't stand too terribly much taller than the rest of the students so she didn't stand out too rashly against the rest. The look of nervousness of a first year was on her face, though. She swallowed the lump in her throat and tightened the blanket around her shoulders and passed through the doorway.

Once she had passed through the doorway, she gasped slightly at the great hall they had entered. The room was vast with four long tables covered in gold dishes. The ceiling looked like the sky outside, slightly cloudy with a few stars peeking through. It took Usagi a few moments to realize that it wasn't the actual sky, but a bewitched ceiling. In addition to the strange ceiling, there were hundreds of candles floating above the tables, which threw a golden glow over everything their flickering light touched. She looked forward at the row of first years and saw that Professor McGonagall held an old, tattered hat in one hand, and was leaning against a stool with the other as the first years filed into the room.

Once all of the students were lined up and a hush had fallen over the four long tables, Professor McGonagall stepped into the middle of the platform with the hat tucked under one arm and the stool with both hands. She set the stool in the very middle of the platform in front of the first year students and placed the hat on its seat. Usagi watched in wonderment as McGonagall stood back from the hat and crossed her hands in front of her. Before Usagi could ponder this, a small rip near the hat's brim open and it began to sing a song. Usagi listened impatiently as the strange hat sung its song. It seemed to have a warning at the end of the song for the Houses to unite together. _'How strange…'_ Usagi thought vaguely as she thought about the strange song. _'A hat that gives advice?'_

"Now, as I call your name, you will come up and sit on the stool. I will place the Sorting Hat on your head and it will sort you into your Houses. Then you will go sit at the your House table with your classmates." McGonagall said as she stepped up to the stool and picked up the Sorting Hat. "Abercrombie, Euan." McGonagall announced and the boy who stood next to Usagi scuttled forward, moving as if his whole body had frozen. Usagi watched with interest as McGonagall placed the hat on the boy's head. The hat sunk down onto his head and nearly covered the boy's whole face. All that held it up was his ear, which stuck out to either side quite far. The rip near the brim opened once more and shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Usagi waited impatiently as her nervousness grew with each and every student who was called to try on the hat. She watched as the girl who had pushed her in the lake walked up to the stool ('Parkinson, Petunia' 3) and it seemed the girl was right, she was placed in Slytherin. With a superior smirk, she walked off to her table and sat near the blond boy from the train who had slapped Usagi across the face. She caught his eye and felt a shiver go down her spine at the sinister sneer that was plastered on his face. Usagi frowned at him and turned her head to the side with her arms crossed over her chest. If he was going to play that way, she could do the same. She had just been trying to help him on the train and he'd done nothing but act nasty toward her. She nearly jumped out of her skin a few moments later when Professor McGonagall's voice said a name loudly.

"Tsukino, Usagi!" She said louder than the rest. Usagi was jolted out of her reverie and stepped forward.

"Hai!" She called as she stood in front of the rest of the students.

"Miss Tsukino?" Came McGonagall's voice again. Usagi turned in the direction of the teacher as her face slowly turned red. "If you would please step forward to be sorted, the rest of us would appreciate it greatly."

"I'm sorry." Usagi said as she bowed and walked forward to the stool.

"Miss Tsukino is an exchange student from Japan so please make her feel welcome. She's a long way from home." McGonagall said before she placed the hat on Usagi's head. The hat sunk over Usagi's eyes and she heard a strange voice in her head.

"Curious…" The voice said. Usagi nearly jumped at the strange voice. _'Nani! Where did that come from?'_ Usagi thought as she tried to move her eyes to see if there was something inside the hat. "Very curious… I see plenty of courage here, but there is something that's much greater." Usagi's eyes widened in surprise as a sudden thought came to mind. _'Is this hat talking to me?'_ Usagi thought in astonishment. "Of course I'm talking to you, child!" The hat said once more. "Now… your loyalty to your friends is overwhelming. If I'm not mistaken, you have given your life for them?" He questioned. _'Aa…'_ Usagi said as a slight sadness came into her eyes. _'And I would do it again, if I had to.'_ "Very strange indeed… You gave your life for them… yet you are still alive now? Well then, I know where you belong. HUFFLEPUFF!" The rip in the brim yelled. Before Usagi could question it further, the hat was pulled from her head and she stepped forward toward the cheering table.

**:Fin:**

3 Since Pansy is such a nasty witch, I figured I'd make the girl who was picking on Usagi be related . So, she has a nasty little sister, ne? Must run in the family . 

Well, that's it for chapter 1, I hope you liked it Thank you to all of the people who reviewed the first chapter


	3. Chapter 2 Classes

**Always Late**

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi and Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I do not own the characters or anything, but the plot belongs to me. Please don't copy my story, I've put a lot of work into this story and I don't necessarily want to see it duplicated elsewhere, it's depressing to me.

Note: This story started out as a one-shot for Sailor Ronin Usa-chan's Mentor thing she had going on her site, but it's quickly turned into a multi-chapter story. Anyway, I don't really have many comments to make except that I don't generally read stories in the Sailor Moon, Harry Potter genre so I don't really know the cliché's and whatnot so please don't accuse me of writing a cliché story or whatever because I'm uninformed about the trends that run around that section.

Thoughts are '_italicized'  
_Dream Sequences are _'italicized' _(thoughts in dreams aren't)  
olloollo Change of scene, time, etc…

**Chapter 2 - Classes**

Usagi let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding as she approached the table. She walked over to the table and sat down next to a girl who looked to be a year older than she. Usagi didn't say anything through the rest of the sorting and clapped politely when the last person was sorted.

"You seem a bit old for a first year." The pretty girl who sat next to Usagi said as she turned her attention to Usagi.

"My powers developed late so I just received a letter last year." Usagi explained as she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. It felt weird being paired with children who were so much younger so she felt slightly out of place.

"Oh, I see," The girl said thoughtfully. "My name is Hannah Abbott 4, how was it your name was pronounced?"

"Usagi." Usagi said as she enunciated the syllables slowly so Hannah could get a feel for the name.

"It's nice to meet you, Usagi. I'll help you get around to some of your classes if you'd like." She offered with a smile as she took Usagi's hand and shook it gently. A small smile spread across Usagi's face and she nodded her head.

"I would like that, Hannah-san." Usagi said politely as the smile remained on her face. _'Maybe this won't be so bad.'_ Usagi thought to herself as she continued to smile. It didn't seem that all Europeans were rude and uncouth like that Malfoy boy from the train. Not that Usagi expected them to be it had merely been nerves that caused her to feel that way. It seemed Hannah was about to say something else, but went silent as the headmaster rose from his place at the faculty table.

"To all or our new comers, welcome!" Dumbledore said as he stretched his arms out to the side and proceeded to turn in a welcoming manner along all of the tables. "To our old hands, welcome back. There is a time for speech, but this is not it. Tuck in!" He said and returned to his seat.

"Tuck in?" Usagi questioned but nearly jumped out of her seat in surprise as the golden dishes in front of her magically filled with food. "Sugoi…" Usagi said as her eyes bugged out in delight. "I don't think I've ever seen food like this… It looks so good!" Usagi said as she began to fill her plate with all manners of different foods that were near enough for her to reach. She didn't notice the boys across the table staring at her as she sampled this and finished off that.

"Do you always eat like that?" A boy sitting across the table from Usagi asked. Usagi looked up and had the decency to blush.

"Yeah, I guess I do." Usagi said as she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment as she pushed her plate back from the table.

"Where does it all go? You're so thin, but you eat like that all the time?" Hannah asked as she looked over at Usagi with wide eyes. There were a few girls sitting close to Hannah who had similar looks of shock on their faces.

"I guess I have, umm… high metabolism?" She said as she struggled with the strange word. She had heard Haruka say something about metabolism or something before and she only hoped she had used the word correctly.

"I guess you do, huh?" Hannah said as she giggled lightly.

"Did I say something weird?" Usagi questioned as she felt a slight blush touching her face. "I wasn't sure if that was the right word."

"It was the right word, don't worry, Usagi." Hannah said with a smile. "Anyway, dinner is almost over. Once Dumbledore does his welcoming speech, we'll head up to the dormitories." Usagi turned back to the table and grabbed a cloth napkin from the table. She began to take bits of this and that and tucked it safely inside the napkin.

"What's that for?" Hannah asked as she saw Usagi wrapping up some of the sweets and some fish in a napkin.

"Hmm? Oh, it's for my cat, Luna." Usagi said with a smile as she held them on her lap. She didn't dare tuck them into her robes, which incidentally, were still sopping wet. She didn't want Luna to yell at her because her treats were smashed or soggy. Usagi turned her attention to the front table as the silver-haired man stood and began to speak. He introduced a woman called Professor Umbridge who was going to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. Usagi couldn't help but think the woman looked somewhat like a huge frog who had a large pink bow perched on its head. She had piggy little eyes and an annoyingly smug smile on her face. The students were all listening intently to Dumbledore; Usagi included, when the same woman cleared her throat loudly effectively interrupting Dumbledore's welcoming speech.

"Can you believe that woman?" Hannah whispered quietly, but loud enough for Usagi to hear. "I can't believe she interrupted Professor Dumbledore…"

"I don't like the looks of her…" Usagi said slowly as her eyes returned to the woman who was rattling on about something Usagi didn't even attempt to listen to the mindless dribble that kept pouring from her mouth. Usagi felt her eyes drooping when the woman finally finished her speech and hurriedly wiped the drool from her face that had dripped out during the lecture.

"What a boring woman…" Hannah murmured beside Usagi. She received a nod of reply from Usagi as she snapped back to reality. With a wave of his hand, Dumbledore dismissed the students and there was a rush as people jumped from their seats and began to exit the great hall.

"First years! This way, follow me!" A fifth year boy said as he put his hand in the air so the first years knew where to go. "The Hufflepuff dormitories are this way." He said as he began to walk toward the exit. Usagi noted a pretty girl whom looked about fifth year bringing up the rear so they didn't lose any first years.

"I'm a prefect so I'll show you the fastest way to our dormatories." Hannah said as she motioned to a badge with a P on it pinned to the front of her robes. "He's going to take the front, I'll follow behind, all right?" Usagi nodded with a small smile and stood up next to Hannah.

"This is the fastest way to our dormitories." The fifth year boy at the front said loudly over the low murmur of the students as they admired the inside of the hallways. Usagi's eyes bulged out of her head and her mouth dropped open when she looked at the paintings that hung on the walls. In Muggle households, pictures didn't move. They were merely snapshot of events that had happened in the past. Instead of the stagnant photos she was used to, the people in the paintings were _moving_. Not only that, but also some of them were speaking as the First Years passed, welcoming them to Hogwarts. There was even a person who looked like a stereotypical witch who was going from painting to painting whispering something into the ear of the painting's occupants.

Usagi's eyes trailed over the tall ceilings and suits of armor as she descended a flight of uneven stairs. She gasped and lost her balance as her foot sunk deep into one of the steps. She fought back tears as the edges of the trick step bit into her stuck leg.

"Oh! I'm sorry Usagi! You didn't hear him tell you to jump that step, are you all right?" Hannah asked as she grabbed Usagi's arm and with the help of another first year boy, they pulled Usagi from the step.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Usagi said as a blush touched her cheeks and she found herself giggling slightly nervously. "Thank you for helping me, I'm Usagi." She said as she stepped up onto the same step as the first year boy. He smiled slightly and put out his hand for her to shake it.

"Evan." He said as Usagi grasped his hand with uncertainty. He saw the look of confusion on her face and shook her hand up and down slightly.

It was a long walk, full of twists and turns. Every now and then, their prefect would lead them down a secret passage that was hidden behind a tapestry on the wall, or tell them to jump over another trick step. They even passed a little man called Peeves that their prefect said was a poltergeist and liked to cause trouble. He also told them not to get caught in the hallways by Mrs. Noris or Filch, the caretaker because they would be facing detention for sure. He even took them through an area that was pitch-black and he had to light up the tip of his wand for anyone to be able to see at all. Usagi noted that they seemed to be going down an endless amount of stairs, as if they were descending into the core of the earth itself. After what seemed like an hour, their prefect paused in front of a portrait of a stately man wearing a crown and very a fancy cloak of fur draped over his shoulders.

"Password?" The figure in the painting said as he shifted his position slightly.

"Hungarian horntail." The prefect said and with a slight smile and a wave of the staff in his hand, the portrait swung forward to reveal a darkened passageway with light filtering through at the end. "Follow me now. The boys dormitories are down the stairs on the right, the girls are up the stairs on the left. Your things will have already been brought to your room so you may begin to unpack."

Usagi walked into the room and drew in a sharp breath. She had walked into a sort of lounge with squashy armchairs, tables that already had a few older students who were playing wizard chess, and a large fireplace with a blazing fire crackling merrily away. _'Maybe I should have read that book…'_ Usagi thought slowly as she tried to take in everything in the room. All of the woodworks as well as the tables were intricately carved with different designs that curled around like smoke on the wood. Not only that, but large tapestries with silver and gold threads glimmered from their places on the walls and seemed to tell the stories of the defeat of famous Dark wizards dressed in black with snakes and spiders wrapped around their shoulders or legs.

"Are you Usagi?" A small voice questioned. Usagi looked down at a blond first year student and a small smile touched her lips as she nodded. "You're in our room, I'll show you where." She said and with a small smile headed up the stairs with Usagi following her. Usagi tightened the blanket around her shoulders and thought longingly of her nice dry clothes in her trunk. She was mostly dry by this point, but she was still chilled to the bone. She wanted to warm herself in front of the fire, but it was best that she change first. She followed the girl up the steps and down a long hallway with doors on either side. They went nearly to the end of the hallway and the small girl disappeared through the doorway. Usagi followed and looked around in amazement once more. She stood in a large round room with five, four-poster beds set about in a circle with a bay window between each of them.

"Sugoi…" Usagi mumbled as she spotted her trunk at the end of the bed in the very center of the room. Her trunk was very easy to identify, it had stickers of bunnies all over it and her name was written in elegant pink letters on the lid in both Japanese and English (something that Michiru had insisted on doing). She glanced at her bed and saw Luna sitting on her pillow staring straight at her. "Oh, here you go, Luna-chan." Usagi said in Japanese as she laid out the small bundle for the cat. She opened the napkin and separated some of the sweets so Luna could enjoy them each separately. She brought out another small one that had an assortment of fish and chicken on it.

"Are you sure you should be giving your cat that? I heard it wasn't good to give cats anything sweet or chocolate." The blond girl who sat on the bed next to her reading stated.

"It's all right," Usagi said with a smile as Luna mewed in gratitude and rubbed her face against Usagi's hand in true cat fashion. "She loves sweets, she can eat more sweets than I can at times." Usagi said as a sweatdrop slid down her forehead. She glanced down at the cat and saw the glare she was receiving from her 'mentor'. She laughed inwardly, Luna couldn't yell at her as long as the other girls were in the room so she could say anything she wanted. "Although I must say she's been getting a lot bigger around the middle." This time Usagi felt a pair of teeth sink into her hand instead of the piece of fish on the napkin. "Itai! Luna-chan! Hidoi!" She cried as tears filled her eyes and she shook her hand.

"I don't think she likes when you call her fat." The little girl who had led Usagi to the dorm room said with a giggle. "She's very pretty. That's a really strange mark on her forehead, though. I've never seen a cat like that."

"She has a bald spot there," Usagi explained as she refrained from strangling the cat. "That's why she's named Luna, because of the shape of the bald spot."

"Where did you get her? Did you get her on Diagon Alley?" The girl asked as she sat down on Usagi's bed and began to pet the cat while she ate her treats.

"No, I've had Luna for several years now. She's one of my best friends." Usagi said with a smile. "Even if she is a little annoying and bossy at times."

"Bossy?" The girl questioned as she raised her eyebrow slightly.

"Aa… She'll start to meow and bother me until I do what it is she wants." Usagi said as a sweatdrop slid down her face at her slight slip-up. She had almost slipped on her first evening there. Usagi rose from her bed and dropped the sopping blanket to the floor. She peeled off the sopping robes and stood in her old school uniform that was still dripping slightly. The blanket had soaked up most of the water off of her Hogwarts robes, but her uniform underneath was still as wet as ever. She shivered as she walked to the end of her bed and began to dig through her trunk for her fuzzy pink pajamas. She quickly pulled on her pajamas and then dug out one of her winter kimonos and pulled it on over in order to warm herself more quickly.

"Usagi-chan, you should get to sleep, you've had a busy day." A familiar voice whispered in her ear as Usagi snuggled into the blankets of her four-poster bed. Usagi nodded in reply to Luna and yawned loudly before she pulled the curtains closed around her bed.

olloollo

Usagi awoke the next morning to a loud screeching noise and the feeling of claws digging into her skin. She sat straight up and screamed in pain as tears stung her eyes.

"Luna! That was mean!" Usagi sobbed as she rubbed the scratches on her arms. The cat sat in Usagi's lap and glared up at her.

"Oh, you're awake. We tried to wake you up, but we couldn't." The little girl from the previous night said as she peeked her head inside of the closed curtains. "You had better hurry or you'll be late for class. You've already missed breakfast so I brought some back for you."

"Eh! It's that late already!" Usagi cried as she pushed the cat off her lap and ripped the curtains open. She ran to her trunk and began to throw clothes out of it, looking for her school robes. She pulled out her schedule as she hopped around the room pulling her sock on with a piece of toast hanging out of her mouth. "Why am I always late!" She whined as she grabbed a bag packed with books and followed the small girl out of the room, chewing on her toast at the same time.

"We have Transfiguration first. We had better hurry or we'll be late. That Professor McGonagall looked strict." The girl said as she and Usagi sprinted down the hallways through throngs of students going in every direction.

"Do you know where the classroom is?" Usagi questioned as she tried not to lose the small girl in the crowd. It was a little bit tough because she was so short Usagi could barely see her over the heads of other students headed to their classes.

"Yeah, I asked one of the upper-classman for directions to the class so they wrote them down and drew me up a map." She explained as she nearly tripped over one of the older students who pushed past her rudely. "We're almost there."

"What's your name, anyway?" Usagi questioned as she pushed past a student who looked like a second year so she could stay close to her guide.

"Daphne Lee 5." She explained as she looked down at the map in her hands once more. "And you're Usagi, right? The new exchange student." Usagi blushed slightly.

"Yeah, I'm from Japan." Usagi said and nearly fell over Daphne as she stopped suddenly.

"Here it is! Transfiguration!" Daphne said as she walked through the open door and into the room. Usagi followed her into the room and they sat a table right in the back of the classroom. Usagi recognized a few of the people from her own house, but most of the others looked unfamiliar to her. "Made it just in time…" Daphne said quietly as the two girls sat there panting and breathing heavily. Usagi recognized Professor McGonagall as the teacher who had done the sorting the previous night and felt her body go rigid. She was glaring darkly at a pair of boys who had just walked through the door even though class had technically already started.

"If you do not want to lost points, it would do well for you to arrive to class on time." McGonagall said as she stared sternly at the two boys who flinched and fidgeted under her gaze. "Now, transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. If there is any goofing off, you will be asked to leave and not return." She said as she sent another glance toward the two boys who could be heard whispering to themselves. "Is there something the two of you would like to share with the class? I am not the type of teacher who won't take points from my own house." She said and the whispering stopped immediately. "Now, for an example." She turned toward a large cage in the corner of the room, said something quietly and it changed into a pink flamingo.

"Sugoi…" Usagi breathed as her eyes bugged out of her head. Ever since she had found out she was a witch, she still hadn't seen much magic. When she fought as Sailor Moon, it wasn't quite the same as seeing a huge cage turn into a living, breathing bird. Usagi could hear people whispering excitedly as they watched McGonagall change the bird back into a cage.

"You will be starting off small. As you can see, Transfiguration is the ability to cage one thing into another. Now, write this down and when we are finished taking notes, we will be changing matches into needles." McGonagall said as she pointed her wand toward a blackboard at the front of the room and words began to appear across it. Usagi struggled to read the big looping letters on the board. Being still relatively new to the language and the fact that she hadn't seen many different peoples' handwriting, she had to concentrate exceptionally hard in order to understand them. Not only that, but they were very complex and confusing.

"Does this look like a needle to you?" Daphne asked Usagi as she held up a silver shard. It was jagged and did not have the eye for the thread to go through.

"Erm… It's kind of like a needle, I guess." Usagi said as she looked slightly uneasy. Her own match was more elongated and pointy and even had a bulge at one end where the eye of the needle should go, but it was still made of wood. "Mine's not much better." She said as he held up the wooden 'toothpick'.

"Now, I want you all to practice on your matches and we will continue transfiguring matches to needles the next class." Professor McGonagall announced at the end of the class period. Usagi rose from her desk and sighed heavily. She rose from her seat and walked toward the door when McGonagall's voice broke into her thoughts, "Miss Tsukino, I would like to speak with you for a moment. I will give you a note for you next class."

"Yes, Professor?" Usagi asked as she blushed slightly. She didn't think she had done too badly in her first class so she couldn't understand why she was asked to stay over.

"It seems you have done very well on your first day of class. I have to ask you, though," Professor McGonagall paused for a moment as if in thought for how to word something. "Are you having trouble understanding English writing?" Usagi blinked in slight surprise. She hadn't been expecting that. She had been expecting to be told that she didn't have enough magic to be able to continue the class and was going to be sent home.

"Oh… well, a little I guess. I'm not used to seeing your handwriting yet and I'm better with reading print than cursive." Usagi said as she blushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Professor. I'll ask Daphne-chan for the notes that I missed."

"Hmm…" Professor McGonagall was thinking to herself and then seemed to reach a conclusion. "All right then. I must speak to Miss Granger, but I think she will be able to tutor you with your English cursive."

"Hermione-san?" Usagi questioned in slight surprise.

"Ah, so you have met Miss Granger? Very good, I will speak to her after her class today. Here's your note, run along to your next class." Professor McGonagall said as she handed a sealed envelope to Usagi. "Just give it to your teacher and make sure you practice transfiguring your match for the next class."

"Hai, McGonagall-sensei!" Usagi said as a smile spread across her lips and she nearly jumped into the air. "Ah! I'm sorry! I forgot, thank you, Professor McGonagall." Usagi said as she bowed and blushed slightly. She had slipped and used Japanese a few times already in the day she had been there, but she hadn't done so in front of a teacher yet.

"Very good, off you go." Professor McGonagall said as a small smile touched her lips. The blond girl might be older than the rest of her peers, but at least she seemed enthusiastic about her schooling.

olloollo

"Professor Bins…" Usagi said as she looked down at the schedule in her hands as she walked down the hallways. They were empty of students and Usagi could hear lectures and chanting going on from classrooms as she walked passed open doors. "History of Magic…" She murmured as she looked from one side of the hallway to the other. She finally sighed in defeat and dropped her arms to her side. "I have no clue where that is…"

"What are you doing in the hallway, mudblood?" A drawling voice questioned from behind Usagi. She turned around and saw the boy with white-blond hair from the train, now snake and tentacle free. "Is the little first year lost?" He questioned mockingly as he fake-pouted at her.

"I'm all right…" Usagi lied as she lifted her head up and returned the glare she was receiving.

"Hmm… What shall I do with the little first year in the hallway when she shouldn't be? I'm a prefect so of course, I won't get in trouble for walking the halls, you, on the other hand…" He trailed off and a smirk spread across his lips as he took a few steps toward her.

"I have a note from Professor McGonagall. She asked me to stay after class." Usagi explained as she held up the sealed envelope for Draco to see. The boy sneered as he saw the Gryffindor crest and McGonagall's signature on the outside of the letter.

"Is the mudblood failing out already? Good… it looks like I won't have to help you out, then." He said with that arrogant smirk on his face. Usagi's cheeks turned pink as she bowed at the waist quickly and began to head down the hallway. She didn't want to say something that would get her into trouble on her first day of classes. Usagi had to force herself to ignore him when, in reality, she wanted to turn around and say something to wipe that arrogant smirk off his face. She noted vaguely that he was following her and quickened her pace. She could hear his steps quicken as well. She turned a corner and spun around angrily.

"Why are you following me!" She demanded as she spun around to see a boy with white-blond hair standing in front of her. She blinked a few times in the dim light and a small gasp came from her. "Eh? Elios? What are you doing here?" Indeed, the white-haired, golden-eyed boy stood before her.

"Come along, hime. I will show you to your class." Elios said as he extended his hand for Usagi to take. Usagi smiled slightly and took his hand. He gently kissed the back of her hand and began to lead her along the corridors.

"Thank you, Elios." Usagi said as she smiled at his back. He led her through numerous hallways and up various staircases. She was, again, frightfully confused because the interior of the castle seemed to change. The staircases had been different the previous night and she had spent time peering over the edge of the staircases, trying to memorize the way to the classroom. "Ne? Why are you here?" She questioned as they walked through a small corridor that was hidden behind a tapestry.

"You looked like you needed a little help." Elios said as he smiled back at her and continued to pull her along behind him. They came out the other side and turned left and walked down about 100 feet. He paused in front of a door on the right side of the hallway and turned to smile at Usagi. "Here is you classroom. If you need any help, call me with this." He said as a small oval pendant appeared in her hands on a silver chain.

"Sugoi… it's beautiful…" Usagi said as she ran a finger over the shiny pink stone set in the center of the pendant.

"You had best hurry, they class started ten minutes ago." Elios said as Usagi looked back up at him. She smiled and hugged him quickly before she pulled the letter from her pocket and pushed the door open to the classroom.

olloollo

Usagi sat at the lunch table next to Hannah and Daphne while she shoveled food into her mouth. The boys across the table were staring at her in shock again as she cleared one platter after another.

"I thought I was going to die in that History of Magic class." Daphne whined as she took a bite of her apple pie. "Do you suppose that Professor Binns has always been so boring?"

"I suppose he has," Hannah said with a laugh. "After all, he didn't let a little thing like death part him from his teaching. I bet he didn't even realize that he was dead." Usagi and Daphne chuckled quietly; Usagi nearly choked on her chocolate cake in the process.

"That class was worse than some of the classes I had to take in the Muggle school I used to go to." Usagi said as she took a swig of pumpkin juice and wiped her mouth with her napkin. She still felt weird saying the word 'muggle', she had grown up a muggle so it was weird calling her family and friends that.

"You went to a Muggle school? How was it?" Hannah asked as curiosity lit up her face.

"Hmm? Well… it was pretty boring. We did the basic stuff, math, Japanese grammar and kanji, science, and we had an English class but I never learned much in there." She said as a sweatdrop appeared on her forehead. "I went to a small gathering of exchange students with some friends at one point and I couldn't say much of anything. Everyone there was so smart…" She said as she pouted slightly.

"If you didn't learn English in class, how do you know it now?" Daphne asked as she raised a slight eyebrow in Usagi's direction.

"My friends Haruka-san and Michiru-san taught me." Usagi explained as she took another bite of her half-eaten chocolate cake. "And Setsuna-san helped as well."

"San?" Hannah questioned as she heard the strange word.

"Oh! Sorry, when you put 'san' after someone's name in Japanese, it's a sign of respect. It's basically like saying Mr. or Mrs." Usagi explained as she realized her slip. "I'm still getting used to speaking English all the time… I had a little trouble reading cursive in Professor McGonagall's class, though." She said as she blushed slightly. "Then again, I never did learn all of the kanji in Japanese so I guess it can't be that bad."

"Kanji?" Hannah said slowly as she said the foreign word. "Is that like your alphabet?"

"Kind of, but it's a lot more complex than yours in English so most Japanese people don't learn all of it. There are different things about the characters that can be translated even if you don't know what it means… My friends helped me, but I still have trouble with some of the kanji. I'm just glad I didn't have to learn it all to pass the high school entrance exams." Usagi said as she blushed slightly. "I never did very well in school because I didn't really try, I guess." Usagi said thoughtfully.

"You have entrance exams? So if you don't pass them, you can't go to high school?" Daphne asked as her mouth fell open. She had grown up in a muggle household so she knew about high school and college and such. Usagi nodded in reply.

"Yeah, so I probably wouldn't have gotten in to a very good school. It doesn't matter, though. I'd rather be here at Hogwarts than a boring muggle high school anyway." Usagi said with a smile. "It might be hard, but I'm going to do my best not to flunk out. I miss my family and my friends, though…"

"You'll make new friends." Hannah said as she smiled at Usagi reassuringly. "You've already made a few." She said referring to herself and Daphne.

"It also seems I've made a few enemies…" Usagi said slowly as she glanced in the direction of the Slytherin table. She saw the blond boy glaring in her direction and turned her attention away from the table.

"You mean Malfoy?" Hannah asked as she had been watching who Usagi had looked at. Usagi nodded and frowned deeply.

"He's not very nice… He called me a Mudblood the first time I ever saw him…" Usagi said slowly. She glanced over at Hannah and saw a horrified look on her face.

"He didn't!" She said in shock as she looked directly into Usagi's eyes. "You're joking, right?"

"No, I'm not… I didn't even know what it meant, Hermione-san had to tell me what it meant." Usagi said as she looked away from Hannah and back at her dessert.

"Hermione Granger?" Hannah questioned as she glanced toward the Gryffindor table. Usagi followed her gaze and gave a small wave to Hermione, who returned the wave with a smile.

"Yeah, I sat with her and her friends on the train after I met Malfoy… She kind of saved me from him." Usagi said with a slight blush. "He tried to hurt Luna too." Usagi said as she frowned deeply.

"Luna? You mean Looney Luna?" Hannah asked as she tried to stifle a giggle.

"Looney Luna?" Usagi questioned as she turned her attention back to Hannah.

"Yeah, she's a year under us, Ravenclaw… She's really strange…" Hannah said as she glanced in the direction of the dreamy-eyed face of Luna who sat one table over.

"Oh! I met her on the train!" Usagi said as she spotted the girl Hannah had been looking at. "I wasn't talking about her, though. I was talking about my cat, Luna." Usagi said with a smile.

"Oh! Luna is such a pretty cat!" Daphne gushed from Usagi's other side. "She has this cute little crescent moon bald spot on her forehead!"

"Does she really?" Hannah asked with a smile. "Mom bought me an owl when I made Prefect so I write to her every week. She gets lonely while I'm away at school. She still has my dad to keep her company, but can you blame her? For the past five years I've been gone the entire time except for over Christmas and summer breaks."

"We'd better hurry, Usagi." Daphne said from beside the blond. "We have potions after lunch. I heard it's really bad to be late for his class. Besides, we want to get good seats."

"All right." Usagi said as she pushed her half-eaten dessert back into the middle of the table. "I'll see you at dinner, Hannah-san." Usagi said as she stood and bowed at the waist. She turned and followed Daphne toward the doors to the Great Hall and they headed downward, toward the dungeons below the schools. Usagi realized as they walked through hallways lined with torches flickering slightly as they passed that she would rather have to sift her way through changing stairs than walk down through the dark, cold corridors to the dungeons.

"This place gives me the creeps…" Daphne said slowly as she pulled a folded up map from her pocket and turned left down a corridor.

"Yeah… why would they have classes down here?" She questioned herself as she followed closely behind Daphne.

In another five minutes, the two girls had joined the query to enter the class. Usagi nearly cried out in surprise as she saw the girl who had pushed her out of the boat on the lake standing outside the door with the rest of them.

"Oh look, it's the _older_ first year. Are you sure you're in the right class, miss prissy?" Petunia Parkinson from the boat said in a drawling voice. Usagi ignored her and headed into the classroom followed closely by Daphne who didn't even glance in Petunia's direction.

Usagi took a seat in the middle of the classroom and stared up at the front, waiting for their teacher to enter the room. Daphne sat beside her and she was aware that two of the other girls from her dorm room were sitting behind her and Daphne. There was whispering among some of the students in the room but was cut off abruptly when a man with dark, greasy hair walked into the room. The door closed behind him with a resounding clang.

"There will be no foolish wand waving or incantations in the class." He said as he walked up to the front of the classroom and dropped his books down on the desk with a loud thunk. "I don't expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science of potion making, but to those few who have the ability, I can teach you to ensnare the senses and bewitch the mind. I can teach you to bottle fame, brew fortune, and even put a stopper in death." He said slowly as he walked across the front of the classroom looking down his nose at the class. Usagi sat up straighter in the chair as the professor's glare fell on her. She winced slightly as she met his narrowed eyes and looked down at the desk almost immediately. She couldn't believe how creepy some of the people attending Hogwarts seemed to be.

"Now, collect your cauldrons and begin the potion on the board." He said and with a flick of his wrist, long spindly writing appeared on the front board. Usagi squinted slightly and turned her head to the side as she tried to make out the ingredients of the potion.

"Come on, you get the cauldron and I'll get the ingredients, all right?" Daphne said as she put a hand on Usagi's arm. Usagi turned to meet her eyes and nodded slightly before she stood and headed toward the back of the room with the rest of the students to get her cauldron. A few minutes later, Usagi was sitting back down at her desk next to Daphne squinting up at the board as she tried to make out the ingredients and instructions. Again, she was having a little bit of trouble reading the cursive writing. This time is wasn't overly fancy, it was spidery and untidy and more than once Daphne had trouble reading his writing as well. It was all right, though. Usagi had made that potion before in her private lessons so she didn't have too much trouble. The hardest part was reading his writing.

"Is it supposed to be orange?" Usagi heard one of the girls behind her ask. She turned slightly to look at their potion. Sure enough, the potion was a bright orange and bubbling angrily.

"It's supposed to be dark blue." Daphne said as she pointed to the potion on the desk between herself and Usagi. "And there's supposed to be silver steam floating off the top of it."

"Fill a flask with your potion and bring it to the front desk for marking." Professor Snape said as he sat at his desk glaring down at the students in his classroom. His eyes roamed across the room and it seemed that only two groups had managed to brew their potion correctly… the over-grown first year and her partner, and a group of Slytherin boys across the room. The rest of the potions ranged from muddy brown to vivid pink. Usagi obediently filled her flask and walked to the front of the room in line with the rest of the first year student. When she handed the flask to the professor, he grasped it and his narrowed eyes fell on her. She bowed slightly and turned away from him and headed back toward Daphne.

Daphne had just finished cleaning up their cauldron and the two of them headed for the door. Usagi paused and glanced back at the teacher whose eyes seemed to be boring in the back of her head. When she met his gaze, she sensed something from him… a dark power seemed to be emitting from him slightly. Her eyes moved down to his arm where she could sense the dark power more and noticed that he quickly drew the sleeve over his arm.

"Come on…" Usagi said as she grabbed Daphne's wrist and headed out the door of the dungeon classroom.

"What's wrong, Usagi?" Daphne questioned as she saw the stricken look on Usagi's face. Usagi pulled Daphne along the corridors toward the stairs that led up.

"I'm sorry… That teacher just gives me the creeps…" Usagi said quietly as a shudder ran through her body. "He seems really strict… I'm just glad I had those remedial potions lessons while I was learning English. I've never been very good at that type of thing… I can't even bake cookies without forgetting something." She said as she scratched her face. "I think we did pretty good, ne?" Daphne smiled and nodded.

"Let's see… we have… Defense Against the Dark Arts next." Daphne said as she looked down at the schedule in her hand.

"Is that the class that lady from the feast teaches?" Usagi questioned as she remembered with a groan the woman who had talked so much during the feast that she had fallen asleep.

"Yes, Professor Umbridge." Daphne said as she read the name on the paper aloud.

"Do you suppose her class will be as boring as her speech?" Usagi questioned as a sweatdrop appeared on her forehead. She didn't want to have to sit through another class like History of Magic… She couldn't afford to fail _two_ classes because she couldn't stay awake.

"For our sake, I hope not. I always heard that Defense Against the Dark Arts was supposed to be fun. Although… some people say the position is cursed." Daphne said slowly as a shudder ran through her body.

"What do you mean?" Usagi questioned as she turned to look at Daphne.

"Well, it doesn't seem that many of them have lasted past their first year teaching that class. I heard from one of the upper classman that there has been a new teacher each year. One died, one lost his memory, one was sacked, and one was locked in a trunk for nine months." Daphne said as she counted each teacher off on her fingers.

"It really _does_ seem like the position is cursed." Usagi said as a sweatdrop slid down the side of her face. "So, do you know where this classroom is?" Usagi questioned as they went up a few flights of stairs.

"Yeah, let's see… We take a right up here at this corridor and it's the third door on the left." Daphne said as she looked down at the map in her hands. One of the sixth year prefects had given her the map and bewitched it to change with each floor and highlight the class that they had next. "I'm just glad that prefect gave me this map." Daphne said as she rolled it up and shoved it inside her robes to one of the inside pockets.

The two of them finished climbing the stairs and stood outside of the Defense Against the Dark Arts door en queue to enter the room. After a minute or so, the bottleneck cleared and the two first year girls were able to enter the classroom with the rest of the students. They took their seats somewhere in the middle of the classroom and took out their wands. They heard to door close and the short, toad like woman walked to the front of the classroom and sat down at her desk.

"Good afternoon, class." Professor Umbridge said in a sickeningly sweet voice as she peered around the classroom with a wide grin covering her face. There were a few mumbled replies to her welcome to the classroom and she frowned slightly. "When I say, 'good afternoon, class' I want you to reply with 'good afternoon, Professor Umbridge'." She said as the wide smile reappeared on her lips. "Now, let's try this again. Good afternoon, class."

"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge." The class said in unison as they stared up at the mousy-haired teacher.

"Wands away and books out." Professor Umbridge said as she tapped her wand on the board. Words appeared where her wand touched the board. "Now, copy these down into your notes. Go on now." She said as people seemed reluctant to put their wands away.

Usagi looked down at her notes and squinted up at the board. The writing was flowery just like the teacher who wrote it and she was having a little trouble copying it down.

_Course aims:  
1. Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic.  
2. Learning to recognize situations in which defensive magic can legally be used.  
3. Placing the use of defensive magic in the context for practical use._

Usagi looked down at her notes and frowned slightly. In her other classes, they had actually _done_ magic, but in the aims, it didn't say anything about _using_ defensive magic. She glanced over at Daphne and made a motion to the wand sticking out of her bag on the floor. Daphne shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.

"Now, turn to chapter one in your book and begin to read. There will be no need to talk." Professor Umbridge said with another sickeningly sweet smile. She sat down at her desk and busied herself with a long scroll of pink parchment that lay in front of her.

Usagi glanced down at her book and began to read… slowly… She couldn't seem to understand what they were saying in the book. There were lots of technical sounding terms that made understanding the book next to impossible. When she glanced around the room, she saw that most of the other students were in the same position. Some were staring at their books with furrowed eyebrows while others seemed to have given up reading completely and were staring longingly out the window at the lake with the sun beating down on its surface.

"_Hem hem_." A small cough said close to Usagi. She spun around to face the toad-like professor and felt her cheeks flush slightly. "I believe you are in the wrong class, my dear." Said Professor Umbridge sweetly.

"No ma'am, I am a first year student." Usagi said uncertainly as a slight blush touched her cheeks.

"No no no, my dear. I don't believe this is your class. You must be a fifth year at least." Umbridge said impatiently as she grabbed Usagi's hand and attempted to pull her to her feet. Usagi snatched her hand back from Umbridge's clammy, warm hands and remained seated.

"I was discovered late, ma'am." Usagi explained as she grabbed her bag from the floor and began to rummage through it. She found a paper and held it out for Professor Umbridge to see. Umbridge snatched the paper from Usagi's hand and scanned it quickly with her eyes. She looked up from the paper and narrowed her eyes on Usagi.

"And you understand everything that is written in that book?" Professor Umbridge questioned sweetly as her eyes fell on the open book that was still on the first page of the chapter. Usagi blushed slightly and shook her head.

"It's very technical, ma'am. And if I must say, it seems that not many of the students are able to understand it." Usagi said slowly as she glanced around at the students who, with lack of anything better to do, had turned to stare at her and Professor Umbridge. A few students nodded their approval at Usagi's having stated the obvious and Umbridge frowned deeply.

"This is Ministry approved curriculum, Miss Sukno." Professor Umbridge said as she dropped the parchment back onto Usagi's desk.

"It's Tsukino, ma'am." Usagi politely corrected as she flushed, but this time with anger.

"Tut tut, we needn't correct the teacher. I read it off the paper as it is spelled, my dear." Professor Umbridge said in her sweetest voice. "You must be this exchange student I've heard about, am I correct?" Usagi nodded her approval but bit down on her tongue to keep from retaliating. "Why they let someone enter this school so late is beyond me, but no matter. If you aren't able to keep up with the English students of the class, I'm afraid you will have to return to your country." She said as she eyed Usagi with a slight smirk on her face. "And I will do everything in my power to see to it that it happens." Umbridge said as she leaned forward and said the last part for only Usagi's ears.

Usagi's eyes widened in surprise at the professor basically saying that she was going to do whatever she could to see that Usagi either flunks out or is expelled. Her face flushed even more red as anger surged up inside of her. She knew this woman was not someone to cross, but she wanted nothing else than to curse her into oblivion even if it was just with Japanese words. She held her tongue, though… with much difficulty and turned her face back to the book that lay open on her desk in front of her.

**:Fin:**

4 Hannah Abbott is mentioned in the 3rd book briefly. In the chapter "Grim Defeat", she spends "much of her time in Herbology telling everyone that Sirius Black can turn into a flowering shrub" (page 166). She's also a Hufflepuff prefect.  
5 They only listed a few first year names in the 5th book so I made one up shrugs Daphne is the name of one of the girls I twirled baton with in High School (marching band), and Lee is my EX-fiancé (I named her before we broke up . stupid asshole grumbles).

**Nixinox**: Honestly? Usagi is more of a Hufflepuff than anything. Her courage isn't really unwavering, she's not overly ambitious, and we all know she isn't the best student in the world so Hufflepuff seemed the logical choice. Besides, nearly everyone puts her in Gryffindor or Slytherin, I wanted to be different

**Tenshi no Nozomi**: I was actually planning on making her rather gifted at Transfiguration so I may put in something about animagi, I don't know yet. XD I have next to nothing planned out for this story;. The only reason Snape would be a bit nasty with her is because she's a fifth year in first year classes, I don't plan to make that too bad, though shrugs Since most of his animosity is reserved for Gryffindors. XD

**Nercia Genisis**: Thank you It's only slightly original? pouts Oh well, I guess I'll just have to try harder, won't I? .

**Usagi Asia Maxwell**: That's pretty much what I was thinking when I wrote it She is a Hufflepuff, plain and simple. No matter how you twist the story, her personality makes her a Hufflepuff.

**Keating's Disciple**: It would have been too easy if I'd put her in Gryffindor XD And honestly, her personality makes her a Hufflepuff hands down I'm still not sure what the pairing will be shrugs I hardly set pairings when I start writing a story anymore. grins The tension will only get more pronounced as the story goes on evil smirk

**drakness'-angel**: Glad you liked it Personally, I think they should be this (just my opinion, though):

Mars - Gryffindor (hard to place, maybe Slytherin)

Jupiter - Gryffindor

Venus - Hufflepuff

Saturn - Ravenclaw

Mercury - Ravenclaw (she's definitely a Ravenclaw)

**RtisTykSyko**: I'm glad you liked it Like I said above, I think she fits into Hufflepuff the best out of all the houses And I wanted to explain how she was able to speak English instead of just having her show up and not have any trouble whatsoever. I was going for a bit of realism. It's unlikely that she will become buddy buddy with either of them in this story. Based on the 5th book, Harry is 'PMSing' all through the book; And Draco isn't the type to befriend a half-blood who is in Hufflepuff.

**ChesireKit**: I'm going to attempt to keep a lot of her habits the same in here I try my best to keep people true to their character when I'm writing. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do with this story, though XD I was probably going to make her be rather gifted at Transfiguration and DADA because it would seem a bit unique, you know what I mean? Hmm… Usagi might be more pure than Draco because she's a princess, but she's still just a half-blood wizard. I mentioned that she had tutoring in the potions because that's really the only subject she could do outside of a regular school because it doesn't involve using actual magic, and besides, we all know how terrible Usagi is at cooking. So basically the extra course was added for her to kind of put her on an equal standing with the other students in first year. Anyway, lots of questioned asked, a few I could answer, but I honestly don't know what's going to happen in this story XD I'm just writing it as I go because if I plan something out, I get bored with it and don't want to continue;


	4. Chapter 3 Lessons and Monsters

**Always Late**

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi and Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I do not own the characters or anything, but the plot belongs to me. If you steal any part of my plot, you will be dealt with accordingly (no plagiarism).

Note: This is a one-shot written for the Mentor thing that is going on at Usa-chan Sailor Ronin's site http / smcrossover. mysticallegends .com. I've wanted to write a Sailor Moon/Harry Potter story for a while now but I didn't want to start anything until I finish off some of my other stories. Naturally, it's perfect to write a one-shot instead, ne? I don't know if this is cliché because I haven't read many SM/HP fics so don't complain to me that it's cliché at any point, all right? Anyway, please R&R or email me at pokahydee mysticallegends dot com. That's all I really want to say, I hope you enjoy the story, ja ne!

For some reason when I uploaded this chapter for the first time, it underlined like the whole chapter, but I don't know why -.-

**Chapter 3 - Lessons and Monsters**

Usagi's next class went by in a blur and she was again sitting at the long house table for dinner. She had told Daphne the little 'warning' she had received from Professor Umbridge as well as the scare she had received from Malfoy when she went to History of Magic earlier that day. Daphne seemed quite adamant about Usagi going to see Professor Sprout 6 and reporting the threat she had received from Umbridge.

"I don't think I should…" Usagi said slowly as she glanced in the direction of the toad-like teacher at the head table. "I mean… she seems to have a lot of power over the other teachers here…"

"Professor Sprout would want to know, though." Daphne said as she took a bite of treacle tart. "Besides, maybe they'll get rid of Umbridge and get a _real_ teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts." Daphne continued as a small smile played across her lips.

"No, this is a battle between Umbridge and I." Usagi said firmly as she took another bite of apple pie. "I will deal with this on my own."

"Miss Tsukino, a word please." Usagi nearly jumped at the new voice and looked up to see Professor McGonagall standing beside her table.

"All right, Professor." Usagi said as she rose from her seat and followed the professor from the dinner table. They stopped beside the Gryffindor table and picked up Hermione before they left the Great Hall and entered the maze of stairwells and corridors. Usagi was starting to get a feel for the castle, so this time she wasn't nearly as confused as she had been the previous night. She didn't really _know_ where they were going, but at least she wasn't surprised that the stairways moved every now and then.

They entered an office that obviously belonged to the head of Gryffindor House. There was a trophy in the corner of the room that said something about Quidditch; at least that's what Usagi _thought_ the trophy said. She, indeed, had no idea what Quidditch was even though she had heard Ron and Harry talking about it on the train.

"Now, as I explained to you after class, Miss Granger. I would like you to help Miss Tsukino with her English letters. She seemed to have a little bit of trouble in class with cursive writing." Professor McGonagall said after the two girls sat down. Usagi blushed slightly at the accusations, but didn't say anything in response.

"Of course, Professor." Hermione said as she turned and smiled at Usagi. Usagi managed a weak smile back, but she still felt perfectly miserable. After all of her hard work, it wasn't as easy to stop speaking, reading, and writing Japanese cold turkey like she had been forced to do upon coming to Hogwarts.

"Let's see, the two of you should get together at least three times a week to work on this." Professor McGonagall explained as she pulled a copy of both Hermione and Usagi's schedule in front of her. "Let's see, you both have a free period on Tuesdays, you can get together after classes on Thursday, and there is always the weekend when you have no class."

"Of course, Professor McGonagall." Hermione said with a smile. She looked at Usagi and winked with another smile.

"I don't think it's a bad idea for you to tutor her in magic as well, Professor Dumbledore wants to try and catch her up with the rest of her peers." Professor McGonagall explained as she placed the two schedules back on her desk with the tutoring periods written in the correct places. "Now you had best head back to your dormitories before you are passed curfew." Usagi and Hermione both nodded and rose from their seats. Usagi was still slightly embarrassed because she had had so much trouble with cursive letters. She was so used to seeing Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna's writing that it was tough for her to read anyone else's.

"Do you know how to get back to your dormitory from here?" Hermione asked as they exited Professor McGonagall's office. Usagi blushed slightly.

"Umm… actually… I don't…" Usagi said slowly as a sweatdrop slid down her face. "I might be able to find my way if I were in the entrance way, though." She explained as she thought to herself.

"All right, I'll take you down to the entrance hall, there may even be a Hufflepuff down there that you can follow." Hermione said as she began to wend her way through the hallways with Usagi following close behind. "How are your classes so far, Usagi?" Hermione asked as they headed down a flight of stairs.

"They are all right," Usagi said slowly as she thought back to her Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. "I don't like that Professor Umbridge woman, and the Potions teacher makes my insides squirm." Usagi said as a chill ran down her spine.

"I agree, that Umbridge woman isn't a very good teacher. I have a feeling the ministry placed her in the school so she could spy on Professor Dumbledore…" Hermione said as her eyes narrowed slightly. "Ah! Forget I said that! I'm a prefect, I should know better than to insult teachers." Hermione said as she blushed slightly.

"But Professor Umbridge is bad news… She… she threatened me today. She said she was going to do everything she could to get me out of Hogwarts." Usagi said as a wave of anger mixed with humiliation washed over her.

"Did she really? You should report that to your head of house!" Hermione said as a look of shock crossed the face of the bushy haired girl.

"That's all right. I don't want to stir up any trouble. Besides, she'd just deny it anyway." Usagi said with a shrug. "I'm just going to have to prove her wrong, ne?" Usagi said as she winked at Hermione. They spent the next few moments in silence and reached the entrance hall after they went down a few more flights of stairs.

"All right, I'll see you later, Usagi." Hermione said with a wave as she headed back up the stairs.

Usagi smiled and waved at Hermione before she headed down the staircase toward her dormitory. It looked as if everyone had already returned to their dormitories because the entrance hall was completely devoid of people. She jumped in surprise when she felt something land lightly on her shoulder. "Iie! Spider, bug, eww!" She cried as she began trying to push the big lump off of her shoulder, only to find that sharp claws were digging in through her robes.

"Knock it off, Usagi-chan!" An agitated voice said close to her ear. "It's just me!"

"Luna, don't do that!" Usagi cried as she finally realized it was just a cat sitting on her shoulder. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Usagi asked as she took deep steadying breaths to calm her pounding heart.

"You were late and I heard that Daphne girl say that one of the teachers had you go to their office. Have you gotten detention at this school already?" Luna asked with a harsh glare.

"No, I haven't gotten detention." Usagi said in annoyance. "Professor McGonagall asked me to come up to her office to give me a tutor in English cursive letters and in magic. They want to try to catch me up with people my age."

"Hmm… well that's understandable, it's going to be very hard for you so you had better not be falling asleep in classes again, Usagi-chan." Luna said sternly into her ear.

"Don't worry, Luna, I didn't fall asleep in any of my classes… well, except for History of Magic, but that class is so boring it's hard to stay awake," Usagi said as a sweatdrop slowly slid down the side of her face. "So, Luna, do you know how to get back to the dormitory? I'm still not used to the castle, it's different every time I try to find my way somewhere." Luna sighed in exasperation.

"Hai hai, go down that staircase there." Luna said as she pointed a paw toward a staircase off to Usagi's right. Usagi followed the cat's instructions and went down stairs and then walked down darkened hallways, then went down a few more flights of stairs and around more corners. She was again as lost as ever and thankful that she had Luna's help to find her way around. Tomorrow she would have Daphne's help to get to her classes so she was pretty much in the clear for the time being.

"How much further is the dormitory, Luna?" Usagi whined as she turned another corner. Right after she turned the corner, she ran into something dark and hard and fell backward onto her backside. Luna tumbled off her shoulder and landed beside her. "Mou, Luna, I thought you said this was a turn, you didn't tell me there was a wall there." Usagi whined as she rubbed her sore nose.

"What are you doing out here so late, Mudblood?" A cold voice broke into Usagi's mutterings.

"Eh?" Usagi said as she looked up into a pair of ice blue eyes. "Eto… I had a meeting with Professor McGonagall." Usagi said tentatively as she stood up and brushed off the back of her robes. It was Draco Malfoy again. How many times could she run into him in one day?

"You're just asking to be put in detention, aren't you?" Draco said with a smirk. "And who were you talking to? I don't see anyone with you."

"I was, uh, talking to myself." Usagi said quickly as she blushed scarlet. It had been a while since she'd nearly been caught talking to Luna by someone who didn't know she could talk.

"And you're able to answer yourself too, then?" Draco said as he peered at her suspiciously.

"Well, of course not." Usagi said as she plucked a ball of lint from the front of her robes nervously.

"She was talking to me, of course." A male voice said behind her. Usagi turned around at the voice to see a tall boy with white-blond hair and golden eyes.

"Elios-san…" Usagi said as her eye widened in surprise. Sure enough, Elios stood behind her wearing Hogwarts robes with the Hufflepuff logo on the front of them.

"I was giving her directions back to her common room." Elios explained slowly as he took a few steps forward to stand in front of Usagi.

"Funny, I've never seen you around before. What year are you?" Draco asked eyeing Elios suspiciously.

"I'm in seventh year and a Prefect." Elios said as he pointed to a badge on his chest with a capital P on it. "She had a meeting with Professor McGonagall and I was asked to escort her back to our common room." Elios stated as he looked straight into Draco's eyes.

"I didn't hear a male voice…" Draco said slowly as he watched the blond girl bend down to pick up the black cat at her feet with the strange marking on it's forehead. The cat had an intelligent look in it's eye and stared straight back at Draco almost with a glare. Draco shook his head at the thought, it was only a cat and cats can't glare. "Whatever, you need to watch your back, First Year." Draco said for only Usagi to hear as he glared down at her for another few seconds, then turned and stalked off down the hallway.

"That was close…" Usagi said as she let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding and glanced over at Elios. "Thank you, Elios-san, you've saved me again. Why are you dressed like that?"

"It looked like you could use a hand." Elios said as he turned to face her. "You're going to have to be more careful, Usagi-san. That boy is suspicious of you, you're going to have to be more careful when you speak with Luna."

"Hai." Usagi said as she picked up the black cat and held her in her arms.

"I won't be able to come and save you again, it takes a lot of strength to cross the border between this world and Elysian," Elios explained as he started to walk down the long hallway with Usagi walking beside him. "When you sleep, though, I'm going to bring you to Elysian and either tutor you myself or have someone tutor you so you can catch up to your classmates."

"Why are you helping me, Elios-san?" Usagi asked as she glanced over at him while walking slowly down the hallway. "It can't just be because I'm going to be ChibiUsa's mother some day. Tell me the truth, please?" Elios looked at her for a second, then sighed quietly.

"Something big is coming, something very big…" Elios said slowly as he turned his face back forward. "You need to be prepared, your powers as Sailor Moon aren't going to be enough to save you, so I'm here to prepare you for that."

"…." Usagi didn't speak for a few moments. "I see… Well then, I guess I'll have to try my best now won't I?"

llollolloll

Usagi awoke early the next morning to hear a rushing sound in her ears. When she opened her eyes, she glanced over and saw that Luna was sleeping next to her head and her soft breath was echoing in Usagi's ears. She lay there for a moment just staring up at the top of the canopy bed remembering the dream from the night before. In her dream, Elios had been having her practice the few charms and spells she had learned the previous day in class. She had finally managed to turn her toothpick into a perfect needle. Today her first class was called 'Charms' and then she had a class that was different from Daphne's. Daphne had stated the night before that it was a class that Third Years and above took called Care of Magical Creatures. The even stranger part was that she wasn't entering the class with the Third Years, but with the Fifth Years.

"I know all about Magical Creatures, though," Usagi explained to Daphne as they walked to their first class together. "Michiru-san and Setsuna-san taught me all about them. They actually took me to look at dragons once last year." Usagi said as a sweatdrop slid slowly down her face. The dragons had been a bit scary, but she loved when they'd gone to see the unicorns. Not only that, she had a friend who was a pegasus so she had even gotten to see a winged horse. She didn't mention Elios, though. It would be a bit tough to explain a talking pegasus who turned into a person with a golden horn on the top of his head.

"I wish I could take some of the more advances classes too." Daphne pouted as Usagi proceeded to tell Daphne about the fire newts and browtruckles that Michiru had found for Usagi to observe and hold. The two of them talked together as they walked to class together about all of the neat magical creatures there were and about all of the neat things they might learn in their next class.

Several minutes later, the pair of them walked into a brightly-lit classroom and found seats toward the middle of the room. The dull chatter of the students ceased when a very short man entered the room. He walked to the front of the classroom and climbed up onto some boxes behind a pedestal.

"Quiet class is about to begin," The short professor said from his boxes. "I am Professor Flitwick, you're Charms teacher. You will learn an assortment of charms in this class that may help you with some every day activities. Please, partner up, I will pass a feather to share between two people. We are going to learn the levitation charm today. Levitation means, to make objects float or fly." With a flick of Professor Flitwick's wand, a feather appeared between each pair of students. "Now, the words for this charm are 'Wingardium Leviosa'. There is a specific wand movement, sort of a swish and flick." Flitwick explained as he demonstrated the wand movement. "Off you go, now. I will be wandering among you to correct incorrect wand movement and pronunciation."

"Okay, it's Wingardium Leviosa…" Daphne said to herself as she practiced the wand movement. Usagi watched the feather… it didn't move. "Hmm… what did I do wrong?"

"Your movement is wrong," Usagi explained as she demonstrated the wand movement for Daphne to see. "You need to flick a little more." Usagi explained. The levitation charm had actually been something that Elios had taught her the night before in her dreams. "Wingardium Leviosa." Usagi said as she did the motion again. The feather did a bit of a flutter and lifted a few inches off the table. She drew her wand up and it floated upward toward the ceiling.

"Oh wonderful! She's done it. What is your name, young lady?" Professor Flitwick said as he came up to stand next to Usagi's table.

"Usagi Tsukino." Usagi said as he blushed slightly. She hadn't known that anyone besides Daphne had been watching her.

"10 point to Hufflepuff for your levitation charm, very good." Professor Flitwick said excitedly. Usagi's cheeks turned even more pink as all eyes turned toward her.

llollolloll

"I really enjoyed that class," Daphne said as the two of them walked down the hallway away from the Charms classroom. "You did really well, did you already know how to do that charm? It really seemed like you did. Your accent didn't even get in the way."

"Well… Michiru-san, Haruka-san, and Setsuna-san had to teach me a bit of Latin so I could pronounce the spells properly. I've been in training for a while now not only with learning English. They taught me a lot this past year. I'm really grateful or I would have already gotten really behind," Usagi told Daphne as they walked down the hallway together. "I should get going. I have to go out onto the grounds for my next class."

"I'll walk down to the entrance hall with you. I have a free period right now and it's on the way to the common room. I want to get started on that Potions essay Professor Snape assigned us." Daphne said as they found the stairway they needed and headed down toward the entrance hall of the school.

"I'll see you at lunch, Daphne." Usagi said as she waved at her small friend and walked out the double doors and out onto the grounds. She headed for the small cabin on the grounds that looked like a little gingerbread house and saw a familiar white-blond head bobbing along ahead of her. Her heart sunk down into her stomach as she realized that she must be going to the Care of Magical Creatures class with Draco Malfoy surrounded by a gang of Slytherins that were all laughing at something he had said. Usagi looked up at the clouds that hovered above them and felt a rain drop land right on the end of her nose. She sighed and pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders. She tried to make herself as small as possible so she wouldn't be noticed by the blond Slytherin boy. He seemed to have it in for her, though she wasn't quite sure why. Maybe he was like that with everyone.

As Usagi drew nearer to the small cabin, she saw a long table set up covered in a variety of twigs and leaves. Beside the table stood, Harry, Hermione, and Ron from the train. She let out a sigh of relief at the sight of them. At least she wouldn't be as isolated with them in the class. They had been very friendly on the train ride to Hogwarts.

"Usagi?" Hermione questioned as she approached the gathering group of students. "What are you doing here? This is a fifth year class." Usagi quickly jogged over to meet the group of Gryffindors to avoid the dark glare she knew Draco Malfoy would be throwing her since he hadn't even known she was behind him.

"This is where my schedule told me to go," Usagi explained as she held out the paper for Hermoine to look at. "Haruka-san and Michiru-san taught me about some magical creatures during the summer and last year. They tried to teach me about the subjects that didn't require using actual magic and I think Professor Dumbledore wants to catch me up with people my age."

"Oh, I see. Yeah, Care of Magical Creatures, second period," Hermione said to herself as she scanned the schedule. "If I were you, I'd stick to the Gryffindor side." Hermione said quietly as she smiled warmly at the blond.

"Oy, what's the ickle first year doing here?" A haughty voice broke into their conversation. "Does she think she's big enough to play with the real wizards of this school?"

"Shut up, Malfoy." Harry said coldly as he looked up from his conversation with Ron to glare at the blond boy.

"How sweet, Potty has to stand up for you. He always did have a soft spot for little Mudbloods." Malfoy said as an arrogant smirk spread across his face. A dark haired girl next to him laughed, which turned into a shriek after a moment.

"Everyone here?" A voice cut across the conversation. The professor stood behind the table and spoke briskly as if she were in a big hurry. "Let's crack on then, who can tell me what these are called?" She asked as she motioned to the table laden with small pixie-like creatures that scampered across the table. Hermione's hand shot into the air excited. Usagi raised hers with less enthusiasm, but rose it nonetheless.

"Oooooh!" Two girls beside Usagi said as they watched the creatures on the table. They seemed to be very excited, like they'd never been shown anything of the like before in their Care of Magical Creatures class.

"Kindly keep your voices down, girls!" Professor Grubbly-Plank said in her sharp tone. She scattered a handful of something that looked like brown rice onto the table. The stick-creatures immediately ran to the food. "So, anyone know the names of these creatures? Yes, you, the blond in the front. Your name please?"

"I'm Usagi Tsukino," She said slowly as she watched the creatures chomping on the 'rice'. "They're called bowtruckles."

"Excellent, five points to Miss Tsukino," Professor Grubbly-Plank said. "And does anyone know where these creatures live? Miss Granger?" She asked seeing as how Hermione's hand had shot into the air immediately.

"They're tree-guardians and tend to live in wand-trees. That is, trees whose wood is of wand quality." Hermione explained intelligently. Usagi couldn't help but be impressed; Hermione sounded like a textbook.

"Very good, Miss Granger. Five points for you, now, can anyone tell me what they eat?" Professor Grubbly-Plank asked the class once more.

"They eat wood lice, Professor," Hermione explained as if she were the only one in the class. "But they'll eat fairy eggs if they can get them." Usagi looked more closely at the rice and saw that it was wiggling all over the table. She felt her stomach turn as she watched the bowtruckles eating the wood lice as fast as they could get their little two-fingered hands on it.

"Good girl, take another five points. So whenever you need leaves of wood from a tree that has bowtruckle lodges, it is wise to have an offering of wood lice to distract or placate it. They may not look dangerous, but if angered they will gouge out human eyes with their fingers, which, as you can see, are very sharp and not all desirable near the eyeballs. So if you'd like to gather closer, take a few wood lice and a bowtruckle - I have enough here for one between four - you can study them more closely, I want a sketch from each of you with all the body parts labeled by the end of the lesson."

"You come with us, Usagi." Hermione said as she grabbed Usagi's sleeve lightly and pulled her closer to the table to get a bowtruckle. Usagi watched as Harry walked behind the back of the table while everyone else seemed distracted to talk with Professor Grubbly-Plank. Hermione pulled Usagi over toward an empty spot on the grass with Ron trailing behind. They squatted down on the ground to pull out parchment and quills to make their sketch of the bowtruckle. "Dumbledore would know if something had happened to Hagrid," said Hermione as Harry came back into their group. Usagi didn't know who this 'Hagrid' was, but it seemed that the dark-haired boy was really worried. "It's just playing into Malfoy's hands to look worried, it tells him we don't know exactly what's going on. We've got to ignore him, Harry. Here hold the bowtruckle for a moment, just so I can draw its face…" Usagi already have the bowtruckle drawn out on the paper, though it didn't look anything like it. As long as the shape was somewhat the same, it wouldn't matter.

"Yes," Malfoy's familiar drawl sounded from nearby. "Father was talking to the Minister a few days ago, you know, and it sounds as though the Ministry's really determined to crack down on substandard teaching in this place. So even if that overgrown moron _does _show up again, he'll probably be sent packing straight away." Usagi had been about ready to warn Harry not to hold the bowtruckle as tightly as he had been.

"OUCH!" The bowtruckle had almost snapped in half in Harry's hand and took a great swing with its sharp fingers and left two deep gashes on Harry's hand. Harry had immediately dropped the bowtruckle and it went running off into the woods.

"Here, let me help." Usagi said as she reached into her pocket for a handkerchief. Usagi ignored the laughter from the Slytherin group as she tightly bound his cut hand with the cloth. It wasn't bleeding very bad, but it kept his picture of the bowtruckle from being too blood stained. Usagi hadn't really known what they were talking about, but it seemed there were a lot of politics within Hogwarts. As everyone was starting to pack their things away, Usagi heard a snap of a twig from the woods behind her. She felt something foreboding in the air.

"What's wrong, Usagi?" Hermioned asked as the blond girl spun around to face the woods.

"I… Something's wrong…" She said slowly as her eyes scanned the tree line. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but she sensed something was not right.

"Is the ickle first year afraid of the big bad forest?" Malfoy questioned as he made a mock pouty face in Usagi's direction. She simply ignored him as she tried to make her eyes penetrate further into the forest.

"I don't remember you being so brave when we were in the Forbidden Forest in our first year, Malfoy." Harry said calmly as he glared at the blond boy. The arrogant smirk faded from Malfoy's face and was replaced by a dark glare. He was about to retaliate when a female voice broke through the air.

"Get out of here! Run!" Usagi yelled at the top of her lungs. Everyone looked at her like she was crazy, but she was already gone. She had taken off into the forest and disappeared.

"A youma? Here?" Usagi asked herself in terror as she disappeared behind a tree. She could hear Professor Grubbly-Plank and Hermione calling for her to come back, but she had something she needed to take care of before someone got hurt. "Moon Eternal Make-UP!" She called as she pulled the familiar broach from her pocket. She had taken it because it was a comfortable feeling, she felt safer having it with her. She didn't expect to have to use it, especially since it had been quiet for so long. She heard the roar of the youma as the warmth of her transformation surrounded her body and clothed her in the familiar fuku. "Stop right there!" Usagi cried as she leapt into a tree above the youma. It was very strange indeed. It was immeasurably larger than most youma an appeared to be a giant scorpion. She could tell by the aura given off by it that it was a youma and not just some creature from the magical world. "I won't let you hurt anyone here! In the name of the moon!" Eternal Sailor Moon cried as she struck the familiar pose.

The scorpion turned toward her and struck at her with its poison-tipped tail. She jumped into the air and landed behind it. She called her Eternal Tier to her, but wasn't able to use it as the tail came crashing down a foot in front of her.

"Ahhh!" She screamed as she went flying backward into a nearby tree. The Tier fell from her hand and skidded several feet away. "Uh oh…" She said to herself as the scorpion advanced on her. She jumped to her feet and dove to the side as the pincer on the front snapped at her and cut the tree trunk cleanly in half. The tree fell forward onto the scorpion, which distracted it enough so Eternal Sailor Moon could grab the fallen Eternal Tier and run several paces away back toward the castle. She didn't want to draw the creature toward the castle, but she didn't want anyone to be hurt if she used any attacks while she was pointed toward the castle.

"Miss Tsukino!" The voice of Professor Grubbly-Plank was very near. Eternal Sailor Moon turned toward the voice and saw the stern teacher walking toward her. The scorpion was hidden by the trees as it attempted to get the tree that had fallen on its head off. "Of all the nerve, running off into the Forbidden Forest! There is a reason it is forbidden!" Grubbly-Plank grabbed Eternal Sailor Moon by the arm and began to drag her back toward the entrance of the forest.

"Let go! There's a youma out there! You'll bring it to the castle!" Eternal Sailor Moon said as she tried to pull her arm out of the vice-like grip of the professor.

"I have no clue what you are talking about, but I saw 20 points from Hufflepuff will make you think it over." Grubbly-Plank said as they reached the edge of the forest. The Care of Magical Creatures class was still assembled on the tree line as Professor Grubbly-Plank pulled Eternal Sailor Moon from the forest. "Of all the nerve…" She muttered.

"Ummm… Professor?" Hermione said tentatively as she pointed to the girl Professor Grubbly-Plank had pulled from the forest. "That's not Usagi."

"What? Of course it… isn't…" She said as she turned to look at the strangely clad girl with large white wings on her back. She let go of Eternal Sailor Moon's arm just as the trees behind them parted to reveal a huge black and red scorpion.

"Kuso…" Eternal Sailor Moon muttered as the youma threw the trees aside like they were toys. "Everyone get out of here!" She yelled as the class watched in shock at the large creature that was fast approaching them.

"Where's Usagi?" Hermione asked as most of the class scattered. They took off for the school building. "We can't leave Usagi!"

"She's fine! Just go!" Eternal Sailor Moon yelled as she held the Tier out in front of her. "Silver Moon Crystal Power KISS!" She called as she did some spinning as lights surrounded her while the power gathered. The attack shot out from the top of the Eternal Tier and a bright golden light lit up the entire area. The attack flew toward the scorpion and hit it with such force it was thrown back several feet. As the golden energy surrounded the scorpion, its body slowly began to shrink and deform. As the light died down, a man wearing red robes stood in place of the scorpion and slowly sunk down and fell facedown on the ground. Eternal Sailor Moon let out a sigh and took off into the woods once more. They would know for sure that she was Sailor Moon if she didn't hurry. She ran into the woods and hid behind a tree, she detransformed before anyone could follow her and then turned and began to walk back out of the trees.

"Miss Tsukino!" A voice called as Usagi came out of the forest, a bit worse for the wear. Her hair was mussed full of twigs and leaves and she had a good-sized gash across her cheek. Many of her injuries were masked as she was in her Senshi form so she never knew the damage from a battle until it was over. Usagi wiped the blood from her cheek as she approached the frantic-looking teacher. "You gave us all quite a fright! Did you see that strange girl! Are you injured!"

"I'm fine professor…" Usagi said calmly as a sweatdrop slid down her forehead. "That girl saved me. I'm sorry I ran off, I just knew something was there. I was only trying to keep someone from getting hurt." All of the students had already gone into the castle and there were several professors sprinting across the grounds toward the small cabin on the edge of the woods, Professor Dumbledore in the lead.

"That was a very foolish thing to do, Miss Tsukino!" Professor Grubbly-Plank said sternly as she gripped Usagi's shoulders. "You should be thankful that you weren't hurt! That thing could have killed someone!"

"Gomen nasai…" Usagi said as she slipped back into her native tongue.

"What is going on?" Dumbledore questioned as he approached the damaged area. Professor McGonagall had approached the fallen man on the ground.

llollolloll

"Do you see Usagi anywhere?" Hermione asked as she craned her neck over at the Hufflepuff table to look for the blond girl. Her normal spot by Hannah Abbott and a few first years was empty. "I really hope she's all right."

"Why are you so worried about her? I mean, that girl in the mini-skirt said she was fine." Ron said as he stuffed a bite of potato into his mouth. Hermione wrinkled her nose at his lack of manners and resumed her scan of the Hufflepuff table for the blond girl. To her relief, she saw the blond girl walking into the Great Hall with Professor Dumbledore with a white bandage across one cheek. Harry narrowed his eyes on the aging Headmaster and turned his attention back to his steak and kidney pie. If Dumbledore was going to ignore his existence, he would do the same thing right back. Hermione, on the other hand, got up from her seat and went running over to Usagi.

"Are you all right?" Hermione asked as she reached the blond girl. "We didn't know where you went, I was so worried!"

"I'm fine," Usagi said with a weak smile. She had gotten into quite a bit of trouble for running off like she had. She had tried to explain that she was just trying to draw the creature's attention elsewhere so the rest of the class didn't get hurt and she wasn't trying to fight it or anything. She wasn't so sure that Dumbledore or Professor Snape believed her, though. The way Snape looked at her was almost like he could read her thoughts or something. And the look on Dumbledore's face suggested that he knew more than she said to him. She felt uneasy around them, though more uneasy around Snape than the Headmaster. "Sailor Moon saved me from that thing."

"Sailor Moon?" Hermione questioned as she remembered the conversation they'd had on the train. "You mean the Sailor Moon you and Luna Lovegood talked about on the train?"

"Yeah, she got rid of that monster." Usagi explained carefully.

"I thought she was a Japanese super-heroine, why would she come to England?" Hermione questioned as she put her hand up to her chin in a puzzled expression.

"I don't know, maybe she just goes wherever there's trouble," Usagi tried to cover as a sweatdrop slid down her forehead. "I mean, there was rumor that she was fighting something in the frozen north at one point."

"Well either way, I'm glad to see you are safe. You gave us all quite a fright." Hermione said as she and Usagi began to walk back toward the Hufflepuff table together. "Madam Pomfrey couldn't heal the wound on your cheek?" Hermione asked tentatively as they walked toward Hannah Abbott and a small First Year who had turned to look at them.

"Huh? Oh yeah, the wound wouldn't close by any of her spells for some reason," Usagi explained as she touched her cheek lightly. It didn't hurt and it wouldn't scar either, though Madam Pomfrey informed her that she thought it would. Usagi knew better, in all of her battles, after all of her injuries, not one scar had been left behind. She assumed it had something to do with the Ginzuishou's healing powers. "She tried a bunch of different stuff but had to resort to just bandaging it to let it heal on it's own."

"Oh, I see… what I want to know is what _was_ that creature. I mean, I overheard people saying that once Sailor Moon attacked, maybe healed is a better term?" Hermione said as if speaking her thoughts out loud. "That monster turned into a wizard that had gone missing a while back. It was really strange."

"It's a youma." Usagi blurted out without thinking and a look of horror crossed her face almost instantly. "At least, umm, that's what I read in my manga. They called them youma in the manga." Usagi covered quickly.

"Hmmm…" Hermione mused to herself as she waved to Usagi and headed to her own table to finish her dinner.

"Are you all right, Usagi?" Daphne asked the second Usagi plopped down at the table beside her. Usagi immediately filled her plate, hoping to get some of the good food before it was replaced by dessert. "We heard rumors that your Care of Magical Creatures class was attacked by some sort of monster!"

"Umm… yeah, it was, but I'm fine." Usagi said as a sweatdrop appeared on the back of her head. She really didn't want to talk about what had happened at that moment. She had had enough trouble trying to cover up her identity and intentions when she had run into the forest earlier that day.

"What was it like? Was it scary?" Daphne asked as Usagi stuffed a roll into her mouth. Usagi used the roll as an excuse not to answer right away. She was really surprised at how fast word had spread around the school about her eventful second day. She had only been there for two days and already rumors were flying.

"Yeah, it was a giant scorpion, of course it was scary!" Usagi said after she swallowed her roll and took a sip from her pumpkin juice in the goblet in front of her.

"I heard someone talking about a girl calling herself Sailor Moon or something. Is that what stopped the monster?" Hannah asked as she seemed intrigued by the story as well.

"Yeah…" Usagi said slowly as she turned her attention back to her plate. "She called herself 'Eternal Sailor Moon', she's actually really popular back in Japan…" Usagi said slowly as she took a bite of the roast chicken on her plate. "There's a manga and everything, most people around here think it's just a publicity stunt, but I'm not so sure."

"That's so strange…" Hannah said as if thinking to herself. "You're from Japan and all of a sudden there's a girl fighting monsters around here…" Usagi felt her throat go dry as she swallowed the bite in her mouth and her eyes grew large. Had Hannah figured out that she was Sailor Moon. "Have you met her? You're the only exchange student from Japan I've ever heard about here at Hogwarts, maybe she's just a witch making sure that you're taken care of and she ran into that monster in the woods." Hannah said with a strange look of triumph on her face as if she'd just solved a great riddle.

"Is that so…" Usagi said as another sweatdrop slid down the back of her head. She let out a small sigh of relief and turned her attention back to her food just in time for the desserts to fill the dishes laid out in front of her. Things were going to become much more difficult around the school if more youma decided to show up. Usagi sighed and finished her dessert before trudging after Daphne and Hannah to the Hufflepuff common room. She really needed to talk to Luna, there was little chance of that happening when she got back, though. What she needed was some sort of secret area that she and Luna could meet to speak about the things that were going on around Hogwarts.

**:Fin:**

6 Professor Sprout is the head of Hufflepuff House isn't she? Correct me if I'm wrong, ne?

All right, I made Usagi take an upper class with the fifth years simply because I wanted her to have more exposure to the trio and Draco and whatnot; If it seems a bit off, I'm really sorry, but the way the story was going, she would have little to no interaction with any of the main characters of the HP books;. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, sorry for the wait, the story is picking up a bit. I left you off without a huge cliffhanger 'mouth drops open' Shocking, ne? Please review and tell me how I'm doing

**Sozoku**: Hehe I can't stand Umbridge either XD I hope you liked this chapter too  
**Usagi Asia Maxwell**: Wow! o.O I didn't know you were still around XD Yeah, the 5th and 6th book are A LOT darker than the rest, it starts getting dark in the third, though. I mean, that one didn't end 'happily ever after' like the first two 'shrugs' I didn't like Harry in the 5th one 'grr' He was like, PMSing all through it -.-  
**Nercia Genisis**: Also, I don't know if I'm being original or not because I don't really read Sailor Moon/Harry Potter stories;  
**Fiona X. Fyre**: Honestly, I haven't decided on a pairing just yet XD I adore Draco, but I don't know if I'll fix her up with him (I have a handful of Eliteist author friends that would murder me XD). I haven't really mentioned the Senshi yet in this story, they may make an appearance, they may not. I'm really not sure yet, I don't plan my stories out in advance;  
**Mini-MoonStar**: Sorry it's so boring, it's off to a bit of a slow start because originally it was supposed to be a one-shot, but _Usa-chan Sailor Ronin_ conned me into making it a chaptered story XD I hadn't really planned anything for it, I hope I spiced it up a bit for ya, though;.  
**Angel-Goddess**: To be honest? This story isn't really planned out at all XD It is a little bit, but I found that if I plan a story out too far, I get bored writing it; I'm too darn long-winded XD It's only been like 4 days (counting the wand search) and the story is already 40 pages long;. Uragirimono is the same way, like 130 pages and only 3 or 4 days have gone by XD. Mmmm…. I love Elios XD He's definitely Bishie 'drools' Lol, Usa-chan is pushing for a Usa/Elios pairing too XD I'm honestly not sure, though;. I honestly ADORE Draco, but I doubt I'll do that pairing, I'll get tackled by a few certain author's;  
**Nixinox**: 'nods' Yup, Usagi is DEFINITELY a Hufflepuff Her loyalty puts her there. Some people will argue that she's brave when she fights as Sailor Moon, but her bravery isn't unwavering, you know what I mean? She'll cry one minute, then be brave when the people she cares about are in trouble.  
**Angelic-Flame-05**: Sorry XD Here's the next chapter for ya; I'm slow when I update, but at least I give long chapters  
**miz**: I can't stand Umbridge XD She's such a wonderfully nasty character that you can really hate, I love it XD  
**Tenshi no Nozomi**: You had good advice, imouto-chan XD Besides, I adore when people reply to my reviews in the following chapter and it's fun to reply Even if doesn't like that -.-  
**Jenbunny**: Hmmm… that is a good point o.O But either way, Usagi's other characteristics would place her in Hufflepuff regardless 'shrugs' I mean, she's DIED for her friends so I'd say her loyalty is her greatest quality I didn't really want this story to be focused on the Senshi because it's too hard to write the Senshi as well as the HP characters and whatnot. I'm not a Mamoru fan so lately in my writing, I tend to gloss him over because I don't want to make him a bad guy or have a 'betrayal' whatever going on so if it comes up when I need him, I'll write in what happened with him. I'm just really not sure what to do with Mamoru at the moment XD


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